


Fate to Guide You

by lls_Ziv



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Dai-nana-han | Team 7 (Naruto), BAMF Hatake Kakashi, BAMF Uzumaki Naruto, Elder God, Everyone Needs A Hug, Fate is so done with peoples bullshit, Fix-It, Fluff, God steps in to fix shit, Hatake Kakashi Is Trying, Hatake Kakashi is a Troll, Hugs, Naruto is sunshine personified, No beta we die like men (Neji), OP original character, Red String of Fate, Team as Family, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, Traumatized children kick ass
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-15
Updated: 2020-05-16
Packaged: 2021-02-19 11:56:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 23,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22744144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lls_Ziv/pseuds/lls_Ziv
Summary: The main timeline of the Naruto-verse is only the trunk of an endlessly growing tree, branching off at every major event. Each change brings about a new reality, in some, the world sorts its self out, other times Fate has to step in to keep a timeline from ending. Every now and then they even like to stick around, fixing up team 7 looks like a long term project after all.A kind of self-insert fix-it, where Fate decides to take on a human form and make everyone go to therapy.
Comments: 39
Kudos: 67





	1. Well now I'm curious

**Author's Note:**

> My first fic on here, it just wouldn't leave me alone so I figured I'd post some and see if anyone was interested. Let me know if I need to fix something. I've a bad habit of changing tenses.

'Ah, so this is how I’m going to die. It's a good death.' Kakashi supposes to himself, he was going to die in the field, covering the escape of his teammates and ensuring the success of the mission. He wonders if Obito would be proud of him, or just call him a baka for following in his footsteps. He'll find out soon anyway. He's to chakra exhausted to move, his hazy vision darkening around the edges. The pain of a broken arm and kunai wounds numbing somewhat now that he'd stopped moving. The possibly cracked ribs making him wheeze slightly as he watches the last two blurred shapes of enraged nin closing in. After taking out five of their comrades they had fair reason to want him dead. He takes as large a breath as his aching side will allow and watches the movement of blochy forms through his eyelashes. There’s a flash of white just as his vision blacks out and he idly wonders what it could have been as he finally succumbs to the darkness. 

\---

Fate is a strange and intangible thing, it governs the endless splitting timelines of the multiverse. Existing outside of time and space, affirming the continued existence of said timelines. For if there ceases to be a course for fate to affect then the fate of that world no longer exists. This is the purpose of fates, to continue their world’s existence and therefore their own. For the most part, fate goes about this largely unknown, never seen by the people affected by the changes, but every now and then something catches their attention enough to be actively involved in a timeline.  
Saving the life of Kakashi Hatake was one such instance. Certainly, they could have simply removed him from the situation and thereby ensuring the continued existence of the timeline with minimal involvement. However it had been a long time since they'd truly been involved with a world, and this one intrigued them enough to stay. So Fate healed the silver-haired shinobi’s wounds and settled down to wait.  
As they sat against the smooth stone of the overhang they were sheltered under Fate took the time to familiarise themselves with the chakra energy of the world. Recalling that shinobi had specific affinities, perhaps they should choose one or two for main use, so as to acclimate better. Earth was immediately discarded, fate was fluid and changing, to flexible for earth. Perhaps water, though water was a steady nature, it brought about change at a slower pace than they were looking for. Fire was an instigator of change, but it was wild and hungry. Lightning strikes in a single moment but they intended to spend more time in this world, this would require a guiding hand. Now wind, yes an element of change, that could help steady or bring about sudden upheaval. Fate smiled to themselves, wind it was. Though they hardly intended to limit their abilities should they be needed but it was a good start to the illusion of a person they would need to create. 

They know when the ex-Anbu wakes by the minor raise in his heartbeat, and then the gossamer-thin wash of chakra that moves over them. He shows no reaction to their presence. Feeling slightly bemused at the relaxed response they consider a moment. Ah, they'd not fully formed into a living being as of yet,and any energy they were giving off likely blended into the surrounding nature chakra. Better to introduce their presence now then.  
"I'm glad that you're awake." They say softly.  
A single grey eye snaps open to stare at them. There are a few tense moments of silence as they wait for a response. The lack of restraints and healed wounds seem to remove some of the suspicion from Kakashi’s mood, though he remains vigilant.  
"Who are you? "  
he asked as his eyes flicker around taking in the rather ghostly being sitting next to him.  
In the time it took to blink at the question they search the language for a name to describe their purpose here, they are quite pleased to find not only a name but a gender attached to said name.  
"Shirube." The newly established man said as their form solidifies into its masculine attributes. "You may call me Shirube. I removed you from the situation that would have otherwise ended in your death."  
He states in a pleased fashion. Kakashi takes a moment to consider him.  
"And my injuries?"  
He askes as he does a quick survey of his newly healed body.  
"Ah yes I did that as well, though there wasn't much I could do for the amount of chakra you used up. I figured your body could mostly deal with that it's self."  
Not that Shirube hadn't made an attempt to assist in its rejuvenation. Allowing just a bit of the surrounding natural chakra into his system seemed to have helped jumpstart the process.  
"Thank you?"  
Kakashi says as if he isn’t sure of the response. Tilting his head slightly and flexing his fingers to gauge his body's level of motion. Looking back at the pale, robed individual still smiling at him he askes.  
"Ah, why?"  
Shirube blinks rapidly at him for a moment before bluntly stating,  
"You are imperative to the fate of this world."  
Kakashi doesn’t appear particularly satisfied with that reason and instead looks on with added suspicion. Shirube had forgotten just how skeptical humans could be. Animals never seem to have that problem. More in tune with the natural world they could easily sense a being of fate, just as they could the life of another animal or the energy of their own world. Humans on the other hand, while still being able to sense in some way their presence, remained suspicious and wary of anything outside their usual understanding. Shirube sighs, humans truly have very little concept of the bigger picture in life. So they lean forward to press a single finger to the center of Kakashis forehead, having removed his headband and release the barest amount of their spiritual presence. The last Hatake freezes up immediately upon contact, eyes blown wide. The fate moves back to allow him time to collect himself. Having your mind blown open to the complexity of the universe was a mind-altering experience, even if for just a second.  
Kakashi comes back to himself slowly, pushing up into a sitting position against the stone wall. He then spends a few moments staring unblinkingly at his hands where they rest in his lap. When he finally looks up he meets Shirubes pale gold eyes steadily.  
"What do you need from me?"  
Fate smiles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.deviantart.com/ziveraa/art/Fate-to-guide-you-scene-1-832625637?ga_submit_new=10%3A1583341335


	2. Getting settled

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shirube and Kakashi make it back to Konoha and have a chat with the Hokage.  
> And is that a little blond I see?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hah! Posted on my Birthday! Victory!  
> I apologize in advance for the unpredictable posting schedule.  
> This is more of a side project and chapters take a while to write.

They walk back to Konoha, Shirube can sense the life energy of every living creature for miles. There's no need to hurry. Kakashi is still healing and Shirube has banned him from chakra use until they reach the village, he hardly trusts him to behave on his own. Technically the fate could jump to any location on the planet, but hey, he wanted to enjoy the experience of being human again, as close as he can get anyway. He had missed the physical sensations of having an organic body, the smell of the trees, the feeling of sunlight on his face and the wind in his hair. He can't believe he hadn't done this sooner. He'd have to remember to spend more time in the physical realm after this. As they travel Shirube takes the time to explain to Kakashi in more detail.

"You are what is referred to as a constant," He starts, the silver haired shinobi is slouched as they walk, but his gaze is focused so they know he's listening. "Your life connects to every major event in the timeline. If something happens you're probably involved. "

Kakashi makes a face at this, though the lack of visuals makes it unclear what sort exactly. Shirube pat's him gently on the shoulder despite his minute tensing at the contact. Life always seemed to give Kakashi the short end of the stick and then beat him over the head with it for good measure. Such is the burden of a Constant.

"As the entity of Fate residing over this particular timeline, it’s my job to keep the world from ending and severing its own line of fate. Had I allowed you to die back there,it would have created a series of events ending in the extinction of this timeline." Kakashi looks stricken at the information."You don't have to worry about that now though, I've decided to take this timeline into my own hands to create the best possible outcome." He tells the slightly stressed looking ninja in hope of comforting him, he decides a slight change in topic would do well to take his mind off the end of the world thing and pointedly clears his throat. 

"Then there's the Catalyst." Shirube continues. "Often the Catalyst and the Constant are one and the same, but in this case the Catalyst is someone else. They are the force of change in the world, the people that bring about new eras, and move the world forward."

"Do you know who it is?" Kakashi asks in obvious interest, previous dark expression dissipating. "The Catalyst of this time, do you know who they are yet?" 

Shirube gives him a conspiring look and grins.  
"Well of course, I know everything." 

He can feel Kakashi's glower dig into the side of his head when he just continues to walk along without continuing. He finally looks back over when after a few seconds Kakashi's gaze remains fixed.

"Are you not allowed to tell me?" He sounds almost like he's pouting about it, and Shirube takes a fair amount of amusement at the tone. Really he can tell him whatever he thinks is necessary, but teasing him is far more entertaining. Turn around is fair play when it comes to being a troll as far as he's concerned. Shirube finally shrugs and looks away in coy amusement.  
"I'll point them out next we see them." 

Kakashi looks slightly sullen at the dodge but doesn't push the matter anymore. All in good time they say. 

"You have other things to consider at the moment anyway." Shirube states, brushing long white hair over his shoulder. "Like how you're going to introduce me to your Hokage." 

Kakashi blanches slightly, glancing over in confusion.  
"You're not going to introduce yourself?" 

He gets a flat look in response.  
"I'm doing you a favor, or would you rather I traipse across town in this?" A pointed look at the billowing white robes he was currently dressed in. Not exactly inconspicuous. 

Kakashi tilts his head in understanding, he'll be drawing enough attention as is. Shirube waves an unconcerned hand.

"I'll wait outside the gates, once you're in a secure setting just focus a bit of chakra where I touched your forehead and I'll come to you." 

Kakashi nods as he catches sight of Konoha's walls, Shirube slides silently out of sight before he can be spotted. Kakashi sighs explosively as he enters the village, this was going to be a pain. Being dead would have been simpler, he thinks morosely.

Kotetsu and Izumo visibly startle at the sight of him. "Hatake san!"

"Yo!" Kakashi gives a two fingered salute and an eye smile to the stunned gate guards.

Izumo comes to first,  
"There's been talk of sending a scout out for you, thought you might not make it back." He looks him over briefly as if checking to make sure all of him is there. Kakashi just waves his hand lazily.

"Mah, no need for that." He says, handing over his identification and ignoring how close he'd actually come to not making it back. 

He shunshinn’s straight to the window of the Hokage building despite the mild burn it brings to his chakra coils, he really doesn't have time to waste escaping people's attempts to drag him into social interaction. Running into Gai right now might actually kill him. 

The Sandaime looks mildly surprised to see him as he drops through the window into his office.  
“ Kakashi-kun, I am relieved to see you’ve returned, your team reported that you had fallen back as a distraction to secure the mission.”

"Hai Hokage-sama." Hiruzen looks calculatingly at him for a moment. 

"Report."  
Kakashi straightens at the command.

"The nin that ambushed our three man cell had no visible symbols of affiliation and wore masks, their combat abilities were on par with Anbu or hunter nin. Originally their objective appeared to be the scrolls the two chunin were carrying, I pulled them into a drawn out battle to ensure the mission success. However after I had taken out three of the attackers their comrades appeared more interested in revenge, this worked in my favor to keep them from going after the scrolls but also eventually led to me being unable to successfully disengage. I was able to incapacitate or kill five of the seven before passing out from blood loss and chakra exhaustion. I did not expect to survive.” 

Hirnzen is listening intently, a pained frown on his face.  
“But you did survive and returned in better shape than one would have expected.”  
Kakashi nods and admits to receiving aid from an unknown individual. The Hokage appears quite intent on the news and Kakashi continues.

“ I woke up unrestrained with my wounds completely healed and my chakra recharging at a faster than usual rate. Initially I believed myself alone, unable to sense any other chakra signatures, it wasn’t until they spoke that I knew they were there.” 

The Hokages eyebrows rise in surprise.  
“They were able to suppress their chakra to such a level?”

Kakashi shakes his head. “No, not suppress, it was like there was nothing there at all, not even at the level of a small animal, just nothing.”

“Impossible.” Hiruzen mutters to himself, brows drawn in disbelief “Did this person give you a name?

“Yes, they introduced themselves as Shirube, no last name, no sign of village identification or occupation.”

“Guide* you say. What else did this Shirube say to you?” 

Kakashi gives a small snort of amusement, this part would be more difficult to believe.  
“He said I was imperative to the fate of this world. When I asked why he had healed me.” Sarutobi looks at him incredulously.  
“Oh?”

“I didn’t understand what he was talking about at first either.”

“But you do now?” He asks, considering his subordinate carefully and kakashi nods.

“Yes he...he showed me. It was only for a moment but it was vast, like stepping back to look at the whole world from the outside, seeing how the threads of people's lives connected to create events and changes. It was astounding.” Kakashi tapers off softly, eyes gone far off as he remembers the glimpse of the universe Shirube had shown him.  
“He’s not human,” he says focusing back on the present. “Not really, he’s taken on a human body like wearing a henge, but I don’t know how much like a real flesh and blood person it actually is.”

“This is very unusual,” the sandaime is staring down at his desk with his brows furrowed in thought “Is this being some kind of chakra construct perhaps?”

Kakashi just shrugs, looking terribly unconcerned.  
"Not sure really, he referred to himself as an entity of fate."

"Fate?" Hiruzen starts.

He's already planning a message to Jariya, the prophecies of the toad elders might bring some knowledge of this man of fate. 

"It would probably be best if I just introduced you face to face." Kakashi suggests and the older man whips his focus back to him in shock. 

"He is here!?"

The Hatake eye smiles gleefully.  
"Yup! He's waiting outside our gates until we're in a secure place to meet with you."

"And you're certain he's not a threat? The Hokage is looking at him seriously and Kakashi drops the lighthearted tone in response.

"Oh I don't doubt he could be a very real threat, but not to us, and not to the village." 

There is a drawn out silence as the wizened dictator stares down the copy nin with deep consideration. Finally he straightens and Kakashi feels the disappearance of the stationed Anbu as the privacy seals go up.

"Very well I will meet with this Shirube, how does he intend to contact us?"

Kakashi returns to an easy slouch, hooded eye making him look almost sleepy.  
"There's no need." He says, giving a small flare of chakra.

A small distortion in the air suddenly reveals the fate in long white robes with a hand on his hip as he promptly turns and pouts at Kakashi, ignoring the spike of chakra from the Hokage when the seals on the room have no effect. 

"Finally, what took you so long? I thought you'd forgotten about me." Shirube says in false hurt, hand placed dramatically over his heart.  
Kakashi sends him an exasperated look and Shirube smiles back at him impishly. 

He hadn't actually been bothered by the wait and had taken the time to scale one of the giant trees overlooking the village. Curling up and letting himself blend into the nature chakra he'd settled in to people watch. Gathering a good understanding of the village was important after all. After so long without a corporeal form it was interesting to watch humans and all their bustling activities. The shinobi moving over rooftops also caught his interest. He'd been trying to guess each individual's rank when he'd felt the tug of Kakashi's chakra flare.

Bringing his attention around to the current Hokage who seems to be gaping slightly at the ridiculous spectacle, Shirube reclaims his sense of decorum and gives a dip if his head in greeting. 

Hiruzen responds in kind, his hands are folded under his chin and he's looking at Shirube with a curious glint in his eye.  
"I must thank you for bringing my shinobi back to me it seems, I am grateful." He begins politely. 

Shirube just cocks his head quizzically.  
"Well of course, fate required it."  
He then perks up in delight. "I've also grown quite fond of him myself, yes I think I shall keep him. No dying for you I'm afraid." He announces, looping his arm through Kakashis, who has his hands back in his pockets.  
Patting at the forearm in his grip as one might a jumpy pet when the man inevitably tries to get away. 

He would learn not to resist the affection soon enough, it was part of the healing process and everybody was getting therapy. Willing or not.

"Ah," the old Hokage looks like he's trying not to laugh at Kakashi's predicament as he asks,"and what exactly do you intend to do here exactly? "

Shirube gives Kakashi's arm a final pat before releasing him and turning his full attention on the man. His hands slip into the long sleeves of his robe and the air about him changes as he pulls himself up deliberately.  
"Often a fates hand in the way of things is slight and nearly indiscernible. However this world is to come upon a sudden and drastic upheaval that will place its existence upon a knifes edge. Therefore I've decided to become fully involved in the events to come, thus ensuring the optimal outcome of this new era, and impeding any fall out before it can occur." 

Shirube is exuding a quiet confidence that speaks of unyielding truth, golden eyes unwavering in his conviction.  
"So, to answer your question, I intend to guide this world divinely into the future by the hand of fate its self."

For a moment nobody speaks in the vastness of the statement, the Fate standing like a beacon before them.

"And this has to do with why you saved Hatake-San yes?"

"There are some key people in this time, who's actions will have a great effect on the future, kakashi-san included.”

Not that telling a shinobi as much would actually make them believe him. Paranoia is so ingrained in older ninja, they wouldn’t believe that someone was telling the truth if kicked them in the face and started dancing the salsa.

‘What a pain.’ Shirube bemones to himself as the old hokage continues to watch him suspiciously. Why did he decide to try diplomacy with ninja again? Oh right, because it was easier than beating them all into submission for their own good, also, he was trying to make friends. 

He and kakashi are definitely friends, even if the copy-nin isn’t aware of the fact yet, so he has to deal with the village leader like a reasonable human instead of like a vengeful god. Ugh, this was taking so long.

“If I may, I could show you what I speak of.” The fate suggests in hopes of getting the disbelief over with.

Sarutobi looks interested but gives kakashi a questioning glance at the notion, to which the man gives tiny boneless nod in response. Thank you Kakashi~ 

“Very well.” The Hokage agrees, sitting up slightly in his chair.

Shirube doesn't give him time to dither about or change his mind, pinging forward to tap a finger on the age spotted hand resting on the desk. Like the previous time he sends a small splash of his spiritual sense into the others chakra network.

He feels Kakashi’s chakra spike slightly at the sudden movement and Shirube almost rolls his eyes. Such a jumpy pup, the man needed to relax, it isn’t good to be so tense all the time. Maybe he can coax him into getting a massage or something. Maybe a spa day? Was that a thing here? Shirube is calculating the best way to de-stress the Hatake menace as the Hokage stares at him in a kind of astounded fascination.

The old man finally clears his throat to call back the pale beings wandering attention.  
“I must admit I was skeptical at first, but I cannot deny the truth of what I just experienced.  
I could also sense your intentions to a degree, and found no hint of malicious or hidden desires.”

The elder shinobi sounds confounded by the sheer openness of the connection, he’d never known a man with so little to hide.  
Shirube almost laughs at the expression on the Hokages face, that the old man couldn’t seem to wrap his head around the fact that he’d been told the complete truth the entire conversation was very telling.

“I have no need to lie to you, I’m here for your benefit after all.” He tells him plainly.

The Hokage nods acceptingly. “I am inclined to believe you, what can you tell me of future threats?”

“Not much.” Shirube admits with a shrug. “Attempting to change the natural timeline to drastically will create a major imbalance, with dire consequences. This is one of the reasons fate doesn't usually get so involved, humans with knowledge of their futures and little understanding of the overarching effects often just make more problems." 

Sarutobi appears to contemplate the statement as Shirube continues.  
"But, as it is you shinobi have shown quite the aptitude for driving your world to destruction in truly spectacular ways." He says in cool depreciation.  
"At this point I think it might actually take less effort to keep the world from ending if I take amore hands on approach now. Then I won't have to pop in constantly to keep you lot from killing yourselves."  
Shirube sounds like an exasperated and disappointed mother. It makes both of the shinobi wilt a little to hear the fates less than stellar review on their history. 

"Ah, I suppose I see your point, the elemental nations don't have the most peaceful past." Hiruzen admits in a slightly disparaging tone. Shirube snorts at the understatement. 

"I also became involved due to an interest in your current Catalyst and Constant." 

Kakashi has moved to lean against one of the window ledges after being released from the clutches of fate. Shirube gives a nod towards him at Hiruzen's confused look.

"As I explained to him on our way here, kakashi is a Constant and will inevitably end up involved with every point of possible change." Shirube ignores the sigh from said Hatake and the Hokages raised brows.

"On that point I will be spending a fair amount of time around him and would like to be brought in as a new Jonin of the leaf."

Two heads stare at him confounded. Though Kakashi looks like he might have already considered the idea himself. Hiruzen just looks surprised.  
" You want to be instated as a Konoha Shinobi?" He reiterates in confusion.  
"That would be- well I suppose? Are you Ah, quite qualified?"

“I assure you that this body is fully capable of functioning at the top notch shinobi capabilities.” Shirube reassures him.  
"Now, the other reason is that I find your Catalyst to be quite rare in as world such as this. I'd like to keep an eye on him, so I'll be needing an apartment near Naruto, preferably next door."

"Naruto's the Catalyst?" Kakashi asks uncertainly while Hiruzen stiffens at the mention of the Yondaimes child.

Shirube just blinks a few times before his face clears."Ah,I suppose I didn't actually tell you, but yes the Catalyst for change in this time is Naruto Uzumaki."

"What do you want from Naruto?" Hiruzen demands coldly.

Shirube turns a stern eye on him at the tone. The Hokage was already in hot water for his handling of Naruto's case in the first place and Shirube is not in the mood to deal with his defensiveness. 

"I am here to guide and support him on his journey, specially since no-one else has seen fit to do so before now. As it is I will of course be telling him of his parentage as well as the biju."

The Hokage lurches to his feet as chakra and killing intent descend on the room.  
" I will not allow such an action, it would reveal him to his enemies and rob him of any chance at a normal life!"

Shirube raises his head in defiance.  
"There was never a chance at a normal life, but there was a chance of a better one had he known about his family earlier. The knowledge can only help protect him now. If he is to become a Shinobi he deserves his heritage!"

"He's not ready yet! The law was put in place to protect him! I can't allow you to reveal such vital information at such a young age! I forbid it! Sarutobi thunders. Shirube rears back as the old man unleashes the full force of his chakra in his anger, it washes over the office in waves, crashing against the walls in agitation. 

Sarutobi's Chakra Is dense and heavy, it's smothering the room and Kakashi stiffens under the pressure. This was not going well, it had been a long time since he’d seen the Hokage so angry.

However, nothing could have prepared him for the sudden wave of power Shirube unleashes in response.  
It sends Hiruzen crashing back into his chair, pressing him down like the crushing depths of an ocean. Kakashi has to keep a white-knuckled grip on the windows ledge to keep his feet under him, despite the overwhelming presence not being directed his way. Hiruzen’s eyes are wide in shock or fear and his skin pales considerably. 

Shirube stands before them radiating power like an old god, clothes and hair fanning out around him as his chakra flares, eyes glowing like miniature suns.

“You would do well to listen carefully gaki.” His voice echoes in the room inhumanly, reverberating down the bone. “Do not mistake my words for mere suggestion, you hold no power here. I have seen the future your decisions hold, and I intend to fix the mistakes you have made just as the ones you have yet to make. You have failed this world already.” 

Hiruzen is visibly shaking now, hands clenched desperately to the arms of his chair. There's a cold sweat covering him and his breaths are shallow in the face of a deities displeasure. 

“Informing you of the circumstances was simply a kindness on my part, but I am not yours to command.” Shirube says steadily, reeling his power back in. 

Kakashi takes a gasping breath as the pressure finally eases off. He can feel tremors running through his body and doesn’t quite trust himself to release the ledge of the window yet. 

Shirube takes a step forward and inclines his head in a diplomatic fashion, hands tucked into the sleeves of his robes once again as if there had been but a slight misunderstanding.  
“I am however amiable to working with you, placed under your command as a new jonin I will remain by Kakashi-sans side during his role as a sensei to ensure a prosperous future for this world.”

As he speaks Kakashi feels Shirubes chakra wash over him again, this time with the purpose of soothing the effects of his last action, settling over him like a warm blanket. It also helps numb the spike of fear that goes through him remembering he's supposed to teach new genin.

The Hokage seems to finally come back to himself at this, though he still appears rather ill.  
“Ah, I see .” He says, suddenly looking terribly weary. “Would it be possible to receive some warning should you make any large changes?” 

Shirube nods.  
“Of course Hokage-sama, I will keep you informed and prepared.”

Hiruzen nods softly at this and stares down at his desk, shoulders slumping as he comes to a decision.

“Thank you Shirube-sama, I’ll have your headband and uniform delivered to your chosen apartment. Is there anything else?”

Shirubes gaze softens then, and he reaches across the desk to place his hand gently over the Hokages aged ones. Hiruzen starts at the touch and glances up to meet soft gilded eyes.  
"You may find ease now, know that I will protect this village and it's future."

At this the other man seems to reach a full acceptance of the situation as years of weight lift from his shoulders. 

Shirube leaves him at that, allowing him time to rebalance after so many revelations and motions for Kakashi to follow him out the window. The jonin hesitates for just a moment before following him out into the red dusk. They drop down to the rooftops below. Kakashi gives a full body sigh as he follows after the eye catching spectacle that Shirube makes, glowing white like some kind of otherworldly phantom.

"I don't suppose there was a way of going about the situation without dropping a biju's worth of chakra on our heads?" Kakashi asks disparagingly. 

Shirube gives a unruffled little shrug as the other pulls up beside him.  
"I suppose, but I didn't want to take all night, you should get some sleep after all."

"Don't go using my health as an excuse after dumping that on me without warning. Anyways, I'm fine. He rebukes and Shirube ducks his head slightly in chagrin. 

"I do apologise for that, I did not intend to affect you so strongly."

He's not sure how to respond to the honest apology so the Hatake just gives a nod in acceptance and continues on silently. 

The duo travel quietly until Kakashi's eye wanders over the edge of the roof to catch on something on the street below. Shirube follows his line of sight and hops down to get a better look. 

"A wallet?"  
Kakashi says from behind him as he crouches down to pick it up. He considers the find for a moment, flipping it around in his hand before straightening and tucking it away in the front of his robe.

Kakashi gives him a rather unimpressed look at the action. 

"Really?"  
He hadn't expected a deity of fate to take interest in lost wallet snatching but, is it stealing if it's already lost?

Shirube responds with an amused huff.  
"As a fate, it's far more likely to be returned to its owner while in my possession than anyone else." 

"Ah." Kakashi blinks and tilts his head in acceptance. Shirube just smiles and pats him on the shoulder.

"Go home Kakashi, you have a team to meet tomorrow." Kakashi visibly slumps at the reminder, muttering under his breath as he turns away.

"Oh, and Kashi-kun," Shirube calls up in a worryingly sweet voice. "Make sure to take it easy, you're still recovering and I'll be checking in if you're not." Kakashi sinks further into his slouch and resolutely doesn't turn around to see what is undoubtedly a terrifying smile.

"Hai hai Shi-chan!"He calls with a little wave and promptly disappears. He's not even going to ask how the fate knows where he lives.

Shirube just shakes his head at the empty streets, he'll keep a watch on Kakashi's chakra to make sure he's behaving and keeping it at a resting level.  
He jumps back up to the roof tops for the freedom of movement and heads off to the little apartment building where he hopes to find his Catalyst. 

The long white robes make running around a little tricky, he'd have to switch them out for something that doesn't billow out around him everywhere, also less eye catching.  
After all, he couldn't tease the Hatake about his "hey come kill me" hair if he looked like a giant cloud. Technically since his hair was white he didn't have much room to talk in the hair department either, but at least his doesn't stick up far enough to catch its own wind currents. 

Ah, how much prodding could he manage before the other jonin tries to stab him he wonders, maybe he'd have to test it. His mind wanders off into scheming territory after that and he's barely paying attention to his surroundings.  
\---  
He's skipping across rooftops idly when he hears it, a scuffle happening below and a very recognizable voice.

"I didn't steal nothin'!"  
The little blonde boy with chakra like sunshine is backed defensively against a wall despite his false bravado. There's an angry man with a woman standing behind him scowling at the boy with a vicious look of disgust. 

“Give me back my money you little thief! I know you took it!” She accuses around the mans back. He’s muscular for a civilian, some kind of labourer. 

“Give back the ladies wallet you little monster, before I beat it out of ya!” He threatens, closing in on the trapped child. 

Shirube gives a small huff of disdain, this wasn’t how they’d hoped their first meeting would go, but as the man snatches the struggling boy around the collar of his jumpsuit he moves to intervene. 

The civilian starts when he shunshins next to him and tries to back up, but Shirubes grasp on his wrist holds him firmly in place.

“If you’d let the boy go please.” He speaks softly, but there's an edge in his voice that suggests it’s not really a request.  
He lets the man go as soon as he unfists his hand from Narutos collar, his own hands tucking back into his long sleeves. 

The large man is giving him a rather wary look, stepping back defensively.  
“Wadda you want.” He asks eyeing him, the woman still hiding behind his back peaking around skittishly. 

Shirube just smiles.  
“Ah, I heard you’d lost your wallet, and came to inquire if this is what you were looking for.” Pulling out the wallet Kakashi had spotted on the ground previously he holds it up for the woman to inspect. 

She gives a little gasp.  
“Yes that is mine, thank you so much!” She says, finally coming out from behind the larger man to take it from him. 

He nods and gives her another polite smile to hide how much he’d rather sneer, she’d been so sure Naruto had stolen it just a moment ago. He had told kakashi it would be returned though, so fake politeness it was, not to mention getting in a fight on his first night in the village probably wouldn’t help his relations with the Hokage. 

The man is still glancing over at Naruto suspiciously, but gives a grunt and leaves with the woman anyway. There's a moment of silence as he watches them turn a corner before finally relaxing.

Now alone Shirube finally turns to face Naruto still backed against the building wall, blue eyes watching him in caution and confusion. Though his shoulders lose some tension when Shirube gives him a genuine smile with far more warmth than the polite one he’d given the civilians. He can't help it really, the little catalyst was so cute! All small and baby cheeked, he just wants to scoop him up and squeeze him, that probably wouldn’t be accepted well yet though. So instead he just squats down on his haunches to reach eye level.

“Hello,” He says, doing his best to speak in a soothing tone, it’s been a few centuries since he’d had much practice so hopefully to was coming out right. “I’m Shirube, may I know your name?” 

It takes the boy a moment to get his balance back but soon the boisterous attitude is out again and he grins widely back,there's still wariness behind his eyes though.  
“I’m Naruto Uzumaki ya’know! The next Hokage!”

Shirube gives him an odd little bow in his crouched position.  
"Well I'm honoured to meet you Naruto-kun."  
The slight blush that comes to the blonds face makes the fate want to coo at him.

"Y-yah!" He says, his eyes lighting up, then he squints as he takes a moment to really look at the person across from him."Huh, you're really pretty."

Shirube blinks in surprise, that wasn't a response he'd expected. How cute.  
"Oh, well thank you." He says appreciably and watches the blush on Naruto's cheeks come back full force.

He hadn't really taken the time to look at his new human form yet, but he had created it from a standard idea of a human body, making it very symmetrical. He also hadn't bothered to make his facial features more traditionally masculine to go with the main gender aspects so the features probably did lean more to the pretty side than most men. But he supposes he must have done a pretty good job anyway. After all, Naruto didn't seem the sort to have a biased opinion. 

"Why don't I walk you home since we're going the same way?" He says, standing up and smoothing out the fabric of his robe. Naruto perks up at the suggestion. 

"Really?" He asks hopefully. Shirube smiles softly and holds out his hand for him to take. Naruto's eyes go wide at the gesture. He looks up at the pale man then back to his hand as if to confirm the meaning. 

Reaching out slowly, checking back again to make sure the offer wasn't going to retracted, almost like a nervous animal. Shirube waits for him and when the tiny hand finally lands in his he gives it a little squeeze of reassurance. 

Naruto looks at him shyly from under his lashes and squeezes back, staring at their joined hands in a soft sort of wonder as Shirube starts to walk them down the dimly lit road. Seeing the look on Naruto's face makes a sudden wave of protective ferocity wash over him and he suddenly wants to swaddle him up in love and affection and protect him from all the hate in this world. He's such a pure soul, so rare among humans, they didn't really deserve him, not with such willful ignorance blinding them. Alas that wasn't an option, Naruto was the key to making this world a better place. Shirube would just have to do his best to help him from here on in. That's not to say he doesn't plan on biting the heads off of anyone that dares to hurt his little sunshine catalyst. The boy was under the protection of fate itself now.

\---

"Ah, there we go, we're home!" Shirube states happily as they walk up the stairs of the slightly shoddy apartment complex.

Naruto looks up at him in confusion.  
"But this is just my apartment."

The other man just gives him a gleeful smile and announces that, "Starting tonight I will be living next door! So it's my house too."  
He almost wants to wiggle in satisfaction when the little blond almost jumps and looks at him with sparkling eyes.

"Like neighbor's?" He asks excitedly and Shirube nods.

"Yup! Exactly like neighbors."  
Naruto looks elated at the news, any previous nervousness gone.

"Cool! I've never really had a neighbor." Then he gives a questioning look, finger of his free hand tapping his chin in thought. 

"Ne, ne, Shirube-san, what happened to your old house that made you move here?"

They're standing in front of Naruto's door now and Shirube releases his hand to gesture vaguely. 

"Well I'm not from here you see, in fact I just arrived today. I'm a new leaf shinobi, come to help out for the Hokage especially, so I had to get a new place to stay."

Naruto practically vibrates with excitement at this, bouncing up and down on his toes.  
"Really! That's so cool! You must be really strong if jiji had you come specially. Hey, hey, what kinda super secret ninja stuff does he need you to do?"

Shirube can't help the soft huff of laughter that leaves him and he reaches out to ruffle the puppy-like genin's hair as he squats down in front of him. Big blue eyes fix on him eagerly, beaming at the affectionate touch.  
"Well I can't tell you much right now but I can say that you will be seeing me quite often."

The little one quiets at the promise, suddenly looking unsure.  
"Really? You'd hang out with me even though nobody else likes me? If-If your new here then you probably don't know but everyone 'cept Iruka-sensei thinks I'm a, a demon. An you won't want to be seen with a Demon." 

His voice is almost a whisper by the end. Naruto's little shoulders are hunched now, eyes down cast, all the vibrancy from a minute ago smothered down. 

It makes Shirube’s chest burn, but he makes sure to put on the most gentle, open expression he can muster, calling out soothingly.

"Naruto, hey"

He places a hand softly on the boys boney shoulder, prompting watery blue eyes to look back up at him. Then with pure conviction behind his words tells him, 

" I definitely want to hang out with you, and I know you're not a Demon, I can tell by your chakra."

A sniffle. "My chakra?"

"Mh hm, your life energy, no demon could have such warm, bubbly chakra."

"Oh." He says softly.

Naruto doesn't quite seem to grasp the concept, but is mollified all the same.

Shirube straightens suddenly with a determined huff that has naruto jerking and staring at him with wide eyes as he nods assuredly to himself.  
"Right! I've decided we're friends now!"

Naruto just looks shocked at the declaration.  
"W-what!? Really?" He squeaks. 

"Yup! Best friends, starting now! Which means we help each other out, so if anybody calls you a Demon or tries to hurt you, then you come tell me so I can throw them in a lake for messing with my friend!" Shirube tells him with vicious satisfaction.

When he looks down to see Naruto staring at him like he's been hit from out of left field and about to cry however, he quickly adjusts.  
Maybe making sudden unequivocal decisions for other people wasn't the best way to go about this after all.  
"Er- unless you don't want to, we could just be neighbor's, I don't want to push you- oofph!"

He nearly topples over from his crouched position on his toes when Naruto barrels into him, arms clutching around his neck as he buries his face in his shoulder. Shirube wraps his arms around him almost on instinct, holding his small frame firmly against his chest.  
He starts rubbing small soothing circles on his back. This was a slightly stronger reaction than expected and it's making him a little nervous until big sapphire eyes wip up to look at him in happiness. 

"Yes! Yes I wanna be friends! I want to be friends Shirube-nii!" naruto says as if he’d just been offered the world, tears beginning to run down his baby cheeks.

Shirubes heart melts and he tucks the child back into his arms to place a kiss on top of wild golden locks.

"Me to Naruto, I'm glad I can be your friend."

Then he just holds him on the narrow platform outside his tiny apartment as he cries quietly into the fabric of his shoulder. 

"Thank you, thank you ," the tiny blonde whispers between his tears again and again. The fate just scoops him into his lap and cradles him in soothing, caring chakra as the little jinjuriki clutches the front of his robes in tight fists.  
\---  
It's a few minutes before Naruto calms down, the last hour had been strenuous for him and he looks about ready to nod off. Shirube gives him a gentle nudge to keep him from falling asleep without unlocking the door.

"Naruto-kun it's getting late, you should get to bed, I hear you have team assignments tomorrow." He whispers and the little brightly dressed child in his lap blinks sleepily.

"Huh, oh yeah." He confirms, blushing slightly as he crawls out of Shirube’s lap and takes out his keys. Shirube stands and helps him get the door open before giving one last hair ruffle.  
“I’ll see you tomorrow, alright sunshine?”

Naruto's answering smile is so warm and bright it warms him all the way down to his toes.  
“Yeah, see you tomorrow Shirube-nii.” he says through a yawn, then he’s toppling into his apartment and crawling straight into bed.

Shirube is still smiling softly to himself as he enters his own apartment. It’s small and mostly barren, but the kitchen has the main appliances and the promised Konohagakure shinobi headband is sitting atop a small pile of supplies. There’s a brace of kunai and shuriken, some rolled bandages, a reel of ninja wire and a small med kit. He places them around the table to deal with later.

Shirube stops as he gets a look at the standard uniform at the bottom of the pile. The smile still frozen on his face as he stares down at the clothing with suddenly dead eyes. The flack jacket is a muted green and padded, reminding him of a life jacket one would force on a child at the pool. The navy blue pants are paired with a long sleeve shirt, both of which appear to not have any fitting in mind, as the standard uniform it’s made to fit multiple body types. It was going to be loose and shapeless on him, very unflattering, he thinks to himself as he looks at the offending pieces of fabric with a disturbingly empty smile.

"...I'm not wearing that."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Shirube means guide or to guide.


	3. What do you mean, why am I in your house?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shirube has his work cut out for him.

Shirube begins his plan of attack by breaking into Kakashi's apartment to make him breakfast. The mostly barren cupboards are expected but still disappointing. At least a quick shopping trip on the way over had helped to begin rectifying the despicable lack of any real food.

Kakashi hadn't heard any of his alarms or traps go off when he woke up to the sound of someone pattering around his kitchen. Recognizing Shirube’s airy chakra signature has him slumping to the kitchen door to stare at the man himself in half-hearted peevishness. His chakra still blended into his surroundings enough that his presence continues to surprise Kakashi when he picks up on it. Kakashi doesn't like surprises. 

"Ah Shirube-san, what are you doing here?"

"I, am making you breakfast and restocking the cupboards, your kitchen is shameful!" Shirube snipes as he whirls around the counters.

"I'm not sure what gave you the impression that I can't feed myself, but I assure you I'm quite capable. Diet is important to a shinobi lifestyle." Kakashi says as he tucks his hands in the pockets of his Jonin blues and leans against the door frame to watch as his kitchen succumbs to the hostile take over. 

Shirube turns to give him a ponderous look.

"Kakashi you've got a half-empty bag of rice and some tea leaves in here."

Kakashi just shrugs. "No point in letting food spoil while on a long mission. I wait till I'm back to eat properly." The Hatake says waving it off.

Shirube raises his brows to give him a dubious side eye. "Uh huh, then survive off of nutrition bars and plain rice until you can be bothered to go shopping I'm sure." He says while setting the table. 

"Now shut up and eat your eggplant miso."

Kakashi brightens at the mention and tilts his head to catch a whiff of the scents in the kitchen. "Eggplant? "

"Yes, I figured if I made you something I know you like, it would be easier to make sure you eat it." Shirube explains before dropping into the opposite chair. 

Kakashi resigns himself to an interrupted morning and takes a seat in front of the offered breakfast. There's fish and rice to go with the miso and a cup of green tea as well. Another whiff tells him the fish is Pacific saury, broiled and salted just how he likes it. Where had the other man even gotten a hold of it, the season wasn't right. 

"How did you know I like miso with eggplant?" 

He asks, picking up his chopsticks and glancing up to look at Shirube staring out his side window. It’s a little surprising when the other man makes no attempt to see his face. Kakashi squints at him suspiciously, he hadn't sneaked a look while he'd been unconscious had he?

Shirube rolls his eyes in an exaggerated manner. "I know everything remember. " He tells him. "I've watched this world for a long time, knowing the foods you like is hardly difficult. Get used to it."

Despite the nonchalant way it's said the fact that the fate has such detailed knowledge of his life is unsettling for Kakashi. So he stews over his food in silence for a few minutes instead of responding. The meal is surprisingly good, considering that he isn't even sure if Shirube needed to eat at all.

"Ah, you're not wearing the uniform. " he eventually remarks after staring for a while. Shirube let's out a snort of disdain and gives Kakashi a moody side eye.  
"You might be able to pull it off but there's no way I'm wearing that uniform." He tells him with a look of distaste, smoothing down his own new clothing choice. 

He's wearing calf high ninja sandals in black to match the fabric of his forehead protector which is tied around his waist. The belted headband helps secure the pale lavender kimono top he's wearing. It's similar to the robes he'd previously been in, but it cuts off at the top of his thighs over the dark grey pants he has tucked into the boots. He's also pulled his long white hair into a low ponytail, his layered bangs falling to frame his face. The paleness of his skin and hair combined with the red markings under his gold eyes gives the impression of a Maiko or mild kabuki makeup. He also has a pack of the standard kunai and shuriken situated low on his hip.

He's hoping to pick up some swords at some point as well. After getting over the horror of being expected to wear the Konoha uniform Shirube had manipulated his robes into the outfit. Like with his body the robes didn’t have a solid physical form yet so he was able to settle them into whatever he liked, and turn whatever was left over into cash, very convenient.

"Kakashi." He begins in sneaking suspicion as he looks over the man who is still wearing his uniform pants and a black, sleeveless mask shirt.

"You do have more than just uniforms and training clothes in your closet right?"

"Ah, no?" 

Kakashi replies uncertainly at the glare Shirube has levelled at him.

"I don't really need anything else."

Shirube closes his eyes and breathes in an attempt to keep himself from whacking the poor idiot Jonin over the head.

"You're lucky you're pretty enough to pull off anything." He seethes into a hand, missing the widening eyes and hint of blush on Kakashi's face. 

"Right! We're going shopping after the team meeting." He declares, slamming his hands down and pushing off the table to skip around to Kakashi's side.  
"Now I will be leaving as I believe one of your masky friends wants to talk to you." He could feel tree boy getting jumpy from his perch on the roof the longer he spent near the copy-nin.

Kakashi gives him an odd look and nearly yelps when Shirube pulls him into a one armed hug around the shoulders. With a quick squeeze and a call of "Later!" the man disappears.

Kakashi is considering just going back to bed and pretending he'd never woken up when the masked mokuton user drops through his open window. He just sighs.

Shirube feels the Anbu's collective chakra spike as they scramble to locate him after his disappearance from Hatake's kitchen. He's kind enough to wait a few roofs over and give them a chance to find him again before heading back towards his new apartment. 

The squad of black ops had shown up some time in the middle of the night. At first Shirube couldn't figure out what they were with their chakra so muted. At first he thought it was some kind of animal, but the complete lack of movement was odd. A closer look at the little spots of chakra had him realising they were human, and for a moment he wondered if children were playing in the trees or something.   
He nearly smacked himself in the face when he suddenly realised that it was Anbu. 

Apparently the Hokage had pulled himself together enough to send a squad to keep an eye on him. He honestly thought it was kind of cute, the little collection of shinobi boogie-men following him around trying to be sneaky. His first instinct was to play with them, and the reactions when he spoofs out of existence make him cackle internally. Alas he had his cute little Catalyst to check in on before he could give the Anbu any real attention. 

Popping into Naruto's place is as easy as popping into Kakashis. Traps and wards don't really do much when you can basically teleport through space and time. How else does one skip about saving a timeline? 

Shirube can hear Naruto snoring softly in his bed as he checks the state off the kitchen. He nearly let's out a loud hiss of disapproval at the smell of sour milk. Alright this might be worse than having nothing at all. He spends the next ten minutes clearing out anything that shouldn't be consumed and tying it all up in a garbage bag. First lesson Naruto was getting was reading use by dates. Then he cleans up and starts making breakfast a second time. 

He decides on oyakodon, adding shredded spinach in the egg and chicken mix so Naruto won't taste it. Sneaking vegetables into Naruto's diet was probably something he and Kakashi would have to double team on in the future. He wonders momentarily if it's odd to make the parent and child dish for the little boy but shrugs it off. It was simple to make and Naruto ought to like it so whatever. The orphan deserves some home made comfort food anyway. 

As the extra large serving of the simple rice bowl is being put together Shirube can hear Naruto wiggle about groggily in his blankets before promptly falling out of bed with a crash. He waits patiently for a disheveled mop of blond hair to tumble into the kitchen. After a moment Naruto finally manages to fix bleary eyes on him. There's a pause of incomprehension as he squints at him before the boy let's out a shriek of surprise and runs into a chair. 

Shirube is almost impressed at the amount of havoc the kid had managed within the first minute of waking up.

"Shirube-San?" Naruto squeaks while regaining his balance. "What are you doing?"

"Making breakfast." Shirube replies for the second time this morning. What did it look like he was doing?   
Kakashi had been confused as well. Why did everyone seem so bewildered, what other reason would he have for making them food in the morning? Ridiculous suspicious ninja. Next time he was waking everybody up with a bucket of cold water, at least then they would have something to be suspicious about! He thinks to himself testily.

Naruto blinks in confusion for a moment "Oh." He wanders over to the rice cooker as Shirube begins plating the donburi dish. "Is the kitchen at your place not working? " He asks.

"What?" The pale man responds with a confused look at the question. "No mines working fine, probably, I haven't checked. Anyway I'm making breakfast for you Naruto."

Naruto jolts and looks up at Shirube with big round eyes. "You're making me  breakfast?" He asks like he'd misheard and Shirube almost turns into a puddle on the ground at the picture he makes. With his ridiculous nightcap and baggy sleep ruffled pajamas, wild bed head, and rosy cheeks. The kid was adorable. 

"Yup!" Shirube chirps, giving the little blond a massive dopey smile and patting his head before placing the food on the table. "Go on! Give it a try, today's a big day so I came to make sure you were ready."

Naruto still looks a little off kilter as he hops onto the chair to look at the food curiously. 

"What is it?" He asks, eyes sparkling hungrily at the aroma.

"Oyakodon. It's a rice bowl with chicken, egg and onion." He tells him, specifically leaving out the secret addition of spinach. "I think you'll like it." He prompts and Naruto nods vaguely before snatching up his chopsticks. 

His blue eyes widen at the first giant bite, then he's devouring the offered food in a flurry. Only slowing and coming to a stop after cleaning out the bowl. He spends a moment basking in the experience happily before appearing to remember Shirube’s presence. 

"Hey Shirube-san, that was really good! Not as great as ramen of course but ramen is the best so that's okay, it still tasted really good! " He says exuberantly, arms waving about to illustrate his point. 

Shirube just chuckles softly and pats Naruto’s head again. 

"Ne, ne, I'm glad you liked it, I guess I was just really excited to see my new friend. What happened to calling me Shirube-nii? I liked that name." He says, drooping a little at the last part to look at Naruto with a pout.

The blond Uzumaki lights up at the words, a blinding smile spreading across his face. 

"Can I really call you that Shirube-nii? Were you really excited to see me?" He asks before puffing up in false bravado to cover the emotional vulnerability in his eyes."Of course, I'm pretty awesome, everybody should be excited to see me!"

Shirube huffs in amusement at his posturing and gives the kid an affectionate shoulder squeeze.

"Yeah, you're really something kiddo." He assures him. 

Naruto relaxes at the assurance and looks over at Shirube with a quieter but more sincere expression. "You really mean it Shirube-nii?" He asks, eyes staring at the man in silent yearning. 

Shirube gives him a gentle nod.

"I sure do, you're going to be great Naruto." He tells him in quiet confidence, and when Naruto lunges at him with watery eyes he wraps his arms around him in a soothing hug.

Naruto's eyes are still wet when he looks up from Shirubes chest but the smile he sends his way is so full of unbridled joy that it makes Shirube’s heart ache.

In a sudden burst of wild elation, he snatches Naruto out of the chair to spin him about the room. The little jinjuriki squawks at first but by end of the impromptu twirl around the little kitchen he's laughing in delight.

He's trying to catch his breath when Shirube sets him back down. He stares up at the man in gleeful wonder. Shirube looks back at him with a soft expression, long fingers resting in daffodil hair after the sleeping cap had been flung into the unknown in their play.

Shirube couldn't accurately say when he had last spent any extended period of time in the living world. And a sudden wave of loneliness over takes him. It was easy to not feel alone when concentrating on the worlds fate from a distance. Easy to forget the warm, fuzzy, fond feeling having humans to care about brought on. It wasn't until he'd been reminded what living like a mortal felt like that he missed it.  
And he's immediately glad that the blond Catalyst had caught his attention.

He stares down into vibrant blue eyes and let's the feelings of happiness, contentment and gratitude show in his gaze and bleed into his chakra. 

Naruto's breath audibly hitches when he feels the emotion radiating from the man. Eyes unbearably kind latched on him unwavering. He barely notices the tears running steadily down his face. He could feel Shirube look right at, and then into him all the way to his core, he saw him, and responded in recognition and acceptance. Naruto nearly crumbles to the floor as the things he had yearned for all his life reflected back in golden eyes.

Shirube isn't aware of how much time passes as he and Naruto speak with their gaze. Communicating more than words could through raw chakra emotion. Letting the lonely little boy know that it was okay now, he wasn't alone anymore.   
Wrapping him up in a warm comforting chakra embrace. Naruto still looks a little dazed at the intense experience, sitting back down with glassy eyes.

Shirube gives the boy a little nudge and slides a cup towards him.

"Here, drink this, it'll help."  
He cajoles softly. 

Naruto looks down at the greenish liquid in halting awareness, then grimaces.   
"Is it tea? Like that icky bitter stuff Jiji drinks?"  
He speculates in obvious distaste.

Shirube laughs at his wrinkled nose. 

"Yes but it's got honey in it so it'll be sweet, try it."

Naruto still gives the hot beverage a doubtful look as he takes a cautious sip.

He seems to contemplate the taste and gives it another try before nodding acceptably. 

"Not bad." He decides, sharing his verdict.   
"I don't know why jiji would drink it all plain and gross though."

Shirube rolls his eyes at the statement, but his grin is definitely amused.   
"Ah, it's an old man thing." He explains with a sage nod.

Speaking of old man tastes Kakashi probably likes his tea the same way. Shirube is pretty sure he was born with the soul and taste buds of a stern 80 year old. Shirube thinks it's hilarious and notes to tease him about it some time. 

Shirube ushers Naruto off to take a bath after finishing his tea. He certainly hadn't bathed last night. 

After that Shirube takes the time to make sure the fresh genin has everything in order for the team assignments that afternoon. 

He says goodbye with a side hug similar to the one he'd ambushed Kakashi with. Naruto looks far more pleased at the action. 

\---

Shirube spends the next few hours atop the Hokage mountain, spreading his chakra sense out wide over the village like a net. His little following of anbu are close by and he sweeps his attention over them one by one, he can feel their chakra spike and they stiffen as his mental gaze looks them over. Rather like hissing cats, Shirube just sends a touch of warmth through his chakra in an attempt to soothe ruffled feathers. They clearly don’t like how easily he can locate them despite their expertise in masking their presence. After giving a chakra equivalent of a head pat most of them seem to deflate into resignation. A few just seem to glower moodily, and then promptly release puffs of killing intent when Shirube laughs at their reaction. Anbu are definitely going to be his favorite to play with, they needed some lightning up anyway.   
Shirube is surprised at how fond he'd become of them, despite having never met face to face. But extended time nearby has helped him come to know them through their chakra rather well.

Letting his focus shift towards the village he can feel the Hokages weighty chakra below him and then the sea of lights that make up the life of the village. Civilians just sort of blend together into a warm blanket of shifting energy, without strong chakra or a connection to an elemental affinity they are far harder to pinpoint compared to the hotspots of shinobi.

Naruto's chakra spreads out around him strong enough to almost block out the other young chakra points near him, it's a little like staring at the sun and trying to see behind it. It's giving him a bit of a headache actually. Shirube can also sense the little ball of deeply condensed angst of the Kyubii at his centre. He'd need to get those two communicating sooner rather than later. 

Kakashi's chakra is a constant static buzz in his sensory range, made clearer by it's familiarity and uniqueness among the larger number of earth and fire affinities. 

Asuma Sarutobi also catches his notice in his fine tuned wind energy. It's very different from both himself and Naruto's own chakra, more tightly reined.

Then there's some odd signatures, they feel similar to Anbu in that they're both honed and suppressed, but they feel a little funny. There's an odd sort of damping on their signatures. Shirube considers they might be part of TI and have learned to wipe off emotional reactions better than most. It could also be spies from other hidden villages, shinobi are always trying to one up each other in that regard. Either way he'd make sure to keep an eye on them. He's considering tracking one of the signatures down to see who they are when he feels a fluctuation in Naruto's chakra. He glances over at the blip only to realise that the rest of the chakra signatures are moving out from under Naruto's abundance of energy. He cocks his head and focuses in to realise groups of three are leaving the academy next to the more refined signatures of adult Jonin, Asuma is off with the ina-shika-cho trio already.

In a little burst of surprise he heads off to check out the academy himself, barely remembering to call out where he's headed for his frazzled Anbu babysitters.

Using his ability to jump between the veil of his current reality like a wormhole he pops up in the school yard instantaneously. Sure the Hashiran was impressive, but it was nothing compared to a fates ability to move seamlessly through both time and space. Ah, his Anbu are freaking out again. Shirube just sighs and walks slowly into the building to give them time to catch up. Why did they have to get so stressed about it, he told them where he was going. Hopefully they'd mellow out some over time and realized he wasn't going to start pulling shady shit in their village. 

Shirube stops in front of the classroom doors in time to hear Iruka tell the baby team seven to wait and that he was sure their new sensei would be there soon. Right, he was late. He doesn't face-palm, but Shirube does have to take a moment to close his eyes and take a calming breath before latching on to Kakashi's prickly signature.

The Anbu have just started to settle around him again when he starts off towards the Hatake menace for retrieval. He ignores the flashes of irritation in their chakra and starts jumping rooftops so they can tail him easily. They can't complain about his disappearing act now can they, ungrateful little shits. Good thing he finds them cute or they'd be pulling their hair out by now. 

Surprise surprise, Shirube finds Kakashi sitting in a tree doing his best impression of a sloth and reading icha icha paradise. This time he does face-palm.

"Hatake..." he starts off in a warning tone. 

Kakashi just looks down at him lazily, nose still in his book.

"Ah Shirube-chan, did you need something?"

The masked man asks sweetly and Shirube has to resist the abrupt desire to throw him through a wall. 

"You're already late, I'm not going to wait around for three hours until you feel like dealing with your situation."

Hatake just waves him off.

"Eh, making them wait a little longer won't hurt them, no need to rush."

Shirube stares up at him with the same dead expression he'd given the uniform from the Hokage. That is to say a serene smile with murderous intent behind his eyes.   
_  
He was not going to have lunch at 4 in the afternoon.   
_

"Right, okay Kakashi. I think you're-"

Shirube materialises next to the Jonin and snatches the collar of his vest. "-coming with me."

And flips him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes before he can run off.

There's a hint of humor under the Anbu's resignation this time. Progress! 

Kakashi makes a few escape attempts but finds himself quite stuck, Shirube has latched onto him with chakra as well as his pants. After some half-hearted complaints Kakashi gives up, accepts his fate with reluctant dignity and starts reading icha icha again braced against Shirube's lower back. It's not like anyone is going to be able to see his embarrassing predicament with how fast Shirube speeds them over the rooftops. He'd get him back soon enough. 

\---

Shirube steps through the classroom door first, dragging a now grumpily resigned Kakashi behind him. He flicks the eraser that falls when he enters directly into Naruto's surprised face.

"Shirube-nii!?" Naruto shouts, with little regard for the cloud of chalk that had exploded on him.

"Are you going to be our sensei?!"

Shirube snorts at his sudden excitement, also his complete disregard of the prank that had just backfired. Both his classmates are looking between them in confusion. 

"Ah, no I'm afraid not Naruto."  
He explains before giving Kakashi a tug into the room. 

"That would be this fine shinobi."

All eyes switch to Kakashi who now has his hands stuffed in his pockets and looks about as enthused to be there as a cat in a bathtub. 

There's a span of silence as the Jonin stares down the children with distaste. 

"My first impression is, I don't like you. Meet me on the roof in two minutes." 

He says flatly and promptly disappears. 

Shirube lets out a laugh at the offense on the genin's faces before vanishing as well. He can hear them begin to interrogate Naruto on how he knows him as he shunshins up to see Kakashi on the roof. 

To most, even a trained ninja, Kakashi would appear to be his usual uninterested self, but Shirube can see the distance in his eyes and the stiffness of his shoulders that show he's uncomfortable. 

Shirube leans up against the roofs railing beside him, but doesn't touch him while he's on edge.

He lets out a heavy sigh as he settles with his hands tucked into his sleeves. 

"I'm afraid running from this will only make it worse Kakashi." He informs him solemnly. A single grey eye slides over to look at him, but otherwise there’s no response.

“Trying to keep your distance won’t work, and in the end you’ll regret it.”

Kakashi’s gaze slumps to the ground at this and his shoulders hunch further in on himself.

Shirube places a steady hand on his tense shoulders and looks straight at him despite the lack of eye contact. His voice is sure and strong.

“They will not leave you this time Kakashi, I will not let them die.”

Kakashi flinches at the promise and Shirube lets his hand slide off his shoulder as he hears the aforementioned genin coming up the stairs.

Kakashi takes a moment to compose himself as the trio settle on the roof steps. When he requests introductions Naruto asks him to go first, his eyes squinted suspiciously. 

"Who, me?" Kakashi asks in false surprise. 

__

"Well, I'm Kakashi Hatake. My likes and dislikes? I don't feel like telling you those. Or my hobbies. Dreams for the future, I never really thought about it." He says with infuriating casualness. The genin do not look impressed. 

The Jonin ducks the swipe at the back of his head and Shirube only ends up brushing the tops of his ridiculous hair. 

"What did I just say about being distant Hatake?" Shirube scolds, clasping a firm hand on the man's shoulder to keep him from escaping and turns back to address the kids.

"This is Kakashi Hatake, also known as 'Copy ninja Kakashi' and 'Kakashi of 1,000 jutsu.'

Shirube begins a proper introduction on the jonin's behalf. Though he leaves out the more well-known name 'Kakashi of the Sharingan' to keep the Uchiha from causing any issues. 

"He likes eggplant, reading and being sad."

Kakashi shoots him a glare and Shirube continues as if he hadn't seen it.

"He dislikes sweets, those who abandon their comrades and talking about feelings."

He can feel Kakashi's glare starting to burn a hole in the side of his head at this point and has to stop himself from laughing at the man's discomfort. 

"His hobbies include reading icha icha, pissing people off for fun and being late. His dream for the future is to not have to deal with any of us." Shirube concludes with a delighted grin. The genin are looking far more engaged and Kakashi is eye smiling up at him in a way that promises pain.

"Ne Shirube-san, after all that about me you should go next." Kakashi suggests sweetly in contrast to the mild killing intent wafting off him.

"Yeah, yeah, tell us about you Shirube-nii!" Naruto crows excitedly. Shirube gives him a warm smile and gives a little bow before beginning. 

"My name is Shirube, I have no last name. I like hugs, daifuku and when my plans go smoothly. I dislike hatred, willful ignorance and when my plans are messed with." He allows a slight edge into his voice at the end.

"My hobbies include fixing things, making things for my friends and stargazing. My dream for the future," Shirube takes a moment to stare at the genin intensely. "Is to create the best possible future for team seven." He finishes with a wicked grin. All three of the baby genin are focused on him, despite Sauske's attempt to look uninterested and internally Shirube is wagging his tail in vicious excitement. 

Naruto breaks in boisterously. "I won't disappoint you Shirube-nii!" He declares in excitement before launching into his own introduction, it’s mostly about ramen. Though by the end Shirube is staring at both Saskue and Sakura in exasperation. "Right... we'll work on that." He says quietly at the girls over the top infatuation and the Uchiha boys ridiculous drama. He wonders if the little revenge driven child even realizes that restoring the Uchiha clan would require that he actually like someone enough to have children with them. 

Well at least he doesn't have to deal with the disaster children alone, Kakashi would have to suffer with him. He thinks to himself before turning to look at the already suffering man. Kakashi sighs and tells the trio of the upcoming test despite the cries of protest.

"A survival test? But sensei we already did all that stuff in the academy, I thought we'd start real missions." Sakura says unhappily, Naruto nodding along vigorously. 

Shirube almost starts laughing when Kakashi chuckles darkly in response.

"Oh those? That was just to find those who  _might_ pass as genin. Or not."

He then goes on to tell them about the low passing rate of his test, seeming to take in the anguish of the children with the contentment some give their morning coffee. Torturing his new students is clearly going to be Kakashi's new favourite pastime.

He lets the news of the all or nothing test settle in the genin's minds, all three looking determined and stressed. His mental torture delivered Kakashi hops up and throws one last thing over his shoulder. 

"Oh, and don't eat anything for breakfast or you'll just throw up!" He finishes with a malicious eye smile. 

"Kakashi! Don't be mean!" Shirube calls as said man immediately makes his escape. Shirube just sighs at his sudden disappearance but doesn't go after him.

"You three should probably start planning if you want to come out of that test with a shred of dignity left." He tells the almost genin without sympathy. Naruto doesn't even seem to hear him.

"Hey Shirube-nii, how'd you know all that stuff about Kakashi-sensei? Are you guys friends?"

Shirube leans back on the railing with a hum. Sakura and Naruto are both watching him with big eyes and while Saskue hasn't moved from his spot he hasn't left either. He smiles and speaks a little louder upon feeling Kakashi's chakra signature settle close by. 

"Yes, Kakashi and I are friends, though I doubt he'd ever admit it out loud." Shirube confirms with amusement. 

Sakura looks confused. 

"Why would he not admit you're friends Shirube-san?"

Shirube settles a more serious look at them, picking through words with consideration. 

"Well, with Kakashi there are often multiple reasons behind his actions. It's part of what makes him such a good Shinobi, his subterfuge. He keeps his cards close to his chest so that nobody knows his hand until he shows it." He explains carefully. 

"That includes most everything in his life, including who his friends are.

That's something you should keep in mind for the future, a good shinobi always keeps you guessing."

His audience all appear to consider his words, he can even feel Kakashi's suppressed chakra roll as if mulling it over.

The fate stretches, stepping away from where he was leaning and speaks up again. 

"Welp, those are all the tips I'm giving you kiddos! Better get scheming!"

Saskue is glaring now, likely from being called a kid. Sakura is looking between her brooding teammate and Shirube with a blush, but there's a glint in her eye that says the gears are already moving. 

"Ah, Shirube-nii!" Naruto whines. 

"Can't you tell us anything else?  
If you helped I bet we could prank him really good! "

Shirube laughs at his recruitment attempt. 

"As fun as that sounds Naruto, this test is important for your team, you have to create your own success. Kakashi's the best of the best and he's the one in charge of whether you pass or not."

Getting the genin communicating is important, ah, food always brings people together right? 

"Tell you what!" Shirube chirps with a flick of his finger. 

"If you three can come up with a plan together and then tell me about it before the test tomorrow, I'll buy you all lunch after!"

Even Saskue looks up at the idea. Perfect! 

Naruto is shouting something about ramen and Sakura looks quite pleased with the idea of a free meal. 

"It's a deal then!" Shirube concludes before giving sneak attack hair ruffles to each of the genin.

"Alright, I'll leave you to it!" He calls over Saskue's sputtering and blinks out of existence.

The only sign that he catches Kakashi by surprise is the minuscule tensing of one shoulder. The look he sends Shirube over his shoulder is not amused, which just makes the other man smile wider.

"Mah, Shi-chan. You're going to destroy the purpose of my test with all those tips, that's no fun."

Shirube just snorts and rolls his eyes at Kakashi's disapproving tone.

"You'd be stuck with them no matter what, I'm just trying to get the ball moving in the right direction." He extrapolates as they move towards training ground 7.

Shirube folds softly down into the grass near the memorial stone and pats the spot next to him. After a moment of hesitation, Kakashi slumps down bonelessly beside him.

They sit in the serene sun-dappled field without speaking for a while. Just taking a moment to breathe and in Kakashi's case silently mull over the last half hour. 

>Eventually, Shirube begins talking softly. 

"They've been on their own for a long time Kakashi. They don't know how to rely on teamwork yet, we have to show them."

He doesn't move from his position staring at the sky as he talks, letting his words come without pressure. 

"You may know the importance of a team's bond but it's been a long time since you've let anyone in as well Kakashi. You can't expect them to trust you or each other if you don't open up."

Shirube stands up and dusts off the blades of grass stuck to his pants.

"You've been mourning for a long time Kakashi, but you need to begin letting yourself heal now."

He says with a final touch to his shoulder.

"I will be here to guide you, so you don’t have to bear the weight of the future alone." Then he's gone, leaving the last Hatake to finish working through things in his own time. 

He doesn't hear the whispered words but Shirube can still feel the gentle flush of tired gratitude in Kakashi's sparkling chakra. 

He thinks Kakashi knows it to. 


	4. Do you even own socks?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter because I had to split it.   
> Also, are socks even a thing in Konoha? They always wear sandals.

Shirube lets Kakashi brood while he has lunch. Even in a mostly human body food isn't really necessary for his survival, but like hell he wasn't going to stuff himself anyways. After all, eating was one of the greatest parts of being in a physical form. Also naps. 

He would definitely be getting a collection of pillows for his bed, and the softest blanket he can find. Maybe he'd even get one for Kakashi after getting the man some actual clothes. Soft things are required for proper cuddle therapy, which Shirube plans to instigate with the team as soon as possible. Kakashi and Saskue will take the most work but he plans to lull them in over time and they'll be in a pillow pile before they realise what's happening. Nobody escapes cuddle therapy. Nobody. 

Aside from plotting to smother team seven in affection, Shirube takes his time savouring his sushi platter, absorbing each subtle flavour and texture. His first meal in centuries and he fully intends to enjoy it to its utmost capacity. Ah the complexity of the human palette truly is sublime after being without for so long. 

After lunch Shirube goes to pick up Kakashi again for shopping, if the man thought he’d be getting out of that arrangement just to sulk in front of a rock he was sorely mistaken.

\---

"Kakashi darling!" He sing songs as he walks up to the man standing in the grassy field. He'd barely moved from the spot Shirube had left him, sage help him, he could feel the guy thinking from across the village. Immediate action needed to be taken. 

"It's been an hour and a half, stay here much longer and you'll start to grow roots like your tree friend."

Shirube takes great pleasure in the glare he can feel Tenzo aim at him from his hiding spot on the edge of the training field. Maybe it was unfair of him to tease the man more than the rest of the Anbu squad but he was just so tetchy!

Kakashi turns to give him a very unimpressed side eye. Shirube can already see him considering if an escape attempt would be worth it.

He snatches his hand before he can come to a decision. Not that running would have helped. 

"Shirube-san..." Kakashi says flatly and looks down at their joined hands. It really is impressive how much he can convey with just that.

Including;  _ 'why are you back again to bother me? Why is this happening to me, why are you holding my hand? Why do you keep touching me? Stop touching me. If I use substitution and run can I escape whatever fate has in store? I should have stayed in bed today. Tenzo stop laughing. I miss Pakkun.'  _ Along with a myriad of micro emotions.

Shirube almost feels sorry for him. Not quite though, stewing in his guilt complex wasn't good for Kakashi anyway. He should be glad Shirube hadn't just flung him over his shoulder again. 

"I told you this morning we were going shopping after team assignments, and despite you're hope's I didn't actually forget. Come on!"

He says cheerily and tugs Kakashi back towards the Village centre. Kakashi appears to realise that resistance would only draw things out, and was also futile. Smart man. 

As they reach the edge of the training ground there's activity within his Anbu entourage. Shirube catalogues it with half a mind and determines there's a shift change happening. Tenzo's squad take a moment to update and likely warn their replacements before flickering off towards the Hokage tower.

"Bye guys!" Shirube calls out with a wave. This gets an unsettled jump from the new team but the others are in a state of weary acceptance. Shirube's pretty sure one of them even gives a long-suffering sort of wave back. Awe, they're precious. 

"Shirube-san please stop provoking the Anbu." Kakashi sighs in exasperation. 

"Ah, but Kakashi, they're so fun! And they might get bored otherwise!" Shirube keens up at him, swinging their joined hands back and forth briskly as they walk.

Ah, and there's the spike of irritation. Shirube waves impishly at the hidden black ops agent, who immediately finds a new hiding spot only for Shirube turn to wave at them there too. Kakashi just slumps in resignation. 

Shirube's pretty sure that if it had been during Kakashi's Anbu days he'd have already tried to kill him in sheer aggravation. 

Actually, knowing Kakashi he might still have a kunai thrown at his head before the end of the week. He plans to let the man be after the shopping trip, hopefully some alone time would help him deal with the bell test tomorrow. But for now he's quite happy to hold Kakashi's hand and usher him towards the shops (much to said mans displeasure.) But getting Kakashi accustom to physical affection is important for both his own and his students sakes. They need to be comfortable enough with each other to seek out solance in one another. 

Shirube lets him have his hand back as they reach the village streets. He wouldn't want to mess up Kakashi's cold lone wolf reputation after all. 

\---

After ten minutes in one of the clothing shops and Shirube has a terrible epiphany. 

' _ It suddenly makes sense.'  _ Shirube thinks to himself a little hysterically. 

The reason Kakashi never wore anything other than his Jonin blues.

He has zero sense of style. 

Shirube almost feels like crying at the realization. The poor man probably never learned to wear anything else. With Sakumo as a father and Kakashi's complete dedication to being a ninja he likely doesn't have a clue. The thought is disparaging. 

It appears Shirube would have to do this himself. He'd had to explain the importance of different clothing to Kakashi on the way to the stores.

Kakashi is never not a shinobi, he's in a constant state of work even when he's not on missions. He needs to be able to disengage with his career as a ninja and take time for himself as an individual. Having separate outfits would help him shift his head space from his expectations on to himself. Having a safe place to take off the mask he shows the world. 

By the end of his rant Shirube is a little incensed. 

"At this point you're not even a person Kakashi, you're just a history of traumatic events stacked on top of each other, wearing a trench coat doing a bad impression of a personality!"

Shirube exclaims, throwing his free hand up in an exaggerated manner. 

"Your whole life has been you reacting to the losses you've suffered, it's almost impossible to tell the difference between a coping mechanism and your actual personality."

Kakashi makes an odd noise in the back of his throat but Shirube ignores him. He could try and defend himself after Shirube finished his lecture. 

He lets out an explosive sigh.

"Your experiences will inevitably shape you, but if you let them dictate who you are then you'll never be free of them."

He reasons softly. 

Kakashi's hand tightens in his. Shirube had made sure to interlock their fingers when he'd grabbed him so he couldn't run away from the lecture on feelings. Also to drag the man into a new wardrobe if he had to. And boy did he ever. 

In the end Kakashi's wardrobe now sported a much better selection. After taking the major decision away from the Hatake who had just attempted to pick out more shinobi gear Shirube had gotten a solid haul. 

Some soft, plain shirts in white and black. A fitted long sleeve and a turtleneck. A loose comfy pair of lounge pants along with something more put together. The sleek pair of black slacks elongated and accentuated his legs quite nicely in the fates opinion. Shirube also threw in a pair of fluffy socks to go with the equally fluffy blanket. He'd teach Kakashi Hatake how to relax if he had to tie him down and drug him with warm milk.

If things continued as they had been, it would break Kakashi in the end, and Shirube had already decided he was keeping him. He'd crush anything that might threaten to take apart the pieces of the man he was so painstakingly putting back together. Even if it was Kakashi's own guilt complex, nothing messed with his plans. He'd fix the whole damn timeline with his bare hands if he had to. 

Which currently places him back in Kakashi's apartment to put away his new clothes. 

"Now I expect you to use these Kakashi." He says with a pointed look.

"Pick a time for at least an hour a week to relax. Put on something comfortable, re-read icha icha for the hundredth time, cuddle Pakkun, I don't care, just make sure you take time to rest and recover mentally as well as physically."

At this point Kakashi has been well and truly beaten into submission and just nods.

Shirube decides to let him be for the rest of the day before he attempts to put himself into a coma to escape the mother hening. He has no doubt that Kakashi would take what was said to him today into consideration. Over thinking seemed like something he would do. 

Shirube gives him a pat on the head in farewell, better not push things with a hug. He can feel both a sense of astonishment and amusement coming from the new Anbu team and gives them a look of fiendish joy.

"Better be careful or you'll be getting surprise therapy next." He tells them with an eyebrow wiggle. 

The amusement promptly vanishes. He'd get them all eventually. Why there isn't a better set up for mental health in the Shinobi Villages he did not understand. Perhaps if there had been better resources Sakumo wouldn't have ended his life the way he had. Maybe Saskue wouldn't be quite so ruined by his brother's actions. It was an unforgivable over sight in the health system. Hell, it took Tsunade to start getting things into any real order. 

Shirube wants to lay down and melt into the ground to escape the cluster-fuck he'd decided to deal with. When did this get so complicated? Screw it, he has enough work keeping things from spiraling out of control without the lack of mental health support. He'd just make sure to bring it up to Tsunade when she showed up. 

He cracks his neck as he enters his apartment via window. Human bodies are oddly unpredictable. The physical form can take immense pressure and damage and still survive, but then if you step the wrong way or sleep a little funny it can result in unexpected consequences. Shirube is still acclimating to his organic form and sometimes it still trips him up. He isn't sure what he could have done to make his neck stiff. Alas, figuring out the intricacies of the human body would have to come later. Whenever he remembers it again probably. 

Right now he had a super comfy bed to assemble and test. Afternoon nap on a mound of cushy blankets and pillows sounds like just the thing.

Sadly his plans for a relaxing evening are interrupted by the sudden arrival of another Anbu.

Shirube pouts at himself in the mirror. 

"Ugh, just a minute." 

Shirube tells the agent just as they body flicker into his apartment, cutting off whatever they were going to say.

There's a wobble in the masked mans chakra, he's taken off guard and chokes as his words get caught in his throat. Shirube uses the moment of awkward silence and finishes brushing out his hair having let it down to go to bed. So much for that idea.

Putting his brush down with an un-enthused sigh he turns to look down at the Anbu kneeling stiffly in front of him.

"All right, what is it?" He asks in a tired voice. 

The Anbu clears his throat. 

"The Hokage requests your presence."

_ Of course the old man had to choose right now.  _

"Wonderful." He states in tonless sarcasm. 

"Alright, I'm going."

He assures his collection of watchers and teleports into the Hokage's office.

Hiruzen startles and looks up at his appearance. 

"Ah, I'd been informed you'd been doing that..." 

He says with a look. 

"Yes, but my little Anbu escorts seem to find it rather vexing so I've been making an effort to travel by more common means. Stress isn't good for them, but they appear rather susceptible to it really."

Shirube explains with a concerned shake of his head.

"You don't seem very bothered by being under watch." The Hokage hedges with a considering look.

Shirube gives a loose shrug. 

"I don't mind, I don't have anything to hide, so if you'd prefer to keep an eye on my going ons go ahead. I actually rather enjoy having your teams of masked babysitters as company."

He explains with a content smile and a brush of chakra over his current collection of Anbu. They feel a little agitated after chasing him to the Hokage tower and he reaches out to assure them they didn't miss much.

Hiruzen looks thoughtful at his response and nods absently. 

"What I actually asked you here for is a public assessment and formal introduction into our ranks." Hiruzen explains.

Shirube cocks his head in interest at the concept. It would be fun to test out his bodies abilities as well as a good way to start interacting with the important Jonin. Two birds with one stone, not bad.

"Sounds good," he says with a small nod. "When do you want to do this?"

The Hokage shifts to settle into his chair and makes an off hand gesture in consideration. 

"I realise it will be your first day with team seven tomorrow, so perhaps the next day?" He suggests. 

Shirube nods agreeably. 

"Sure, works for me, it might do the baby genin good to see a show of combat prowess, get them motivated."

_ If nothing else it should help prove that they have much to learn.  _

He cocks his head again at a sudden thought. 

"Can I face off against Kakashi during the assessment? I'd like to know exactly where he's at right now."

Hiruzen looks like he considers the request with some surprise but accepts anyway.

"Perfect!" Shirube cheers with a little clap of his hands. 

"I'm up for whatever, so just let me know when and where."

They hash out an arena location and decide on a morning match. Shirube tells the Hokage to keep the exact test plans a secret, he wants it to be a surprise. Also it's only fair to Kakashi, who is currently being sent his own message bird.

He dashes out the office window after a bubbly farewell, specifically  _ not  _ littering the ground with leaves as many ninja seem fond of doing. Finally! Super comfy pillow pile, here he comes. 

\---

Upon arrival at the apartment complex Shirube picks up Naruto's presence next door. He stops for a moment to consider maybe saying goodnight when a thought hits him.

Suddenly his eyes light up like stars and he begins bouncing around gathering his collection of blankets and pillows as a plan starts to form. 

Five minutes later he knocks on Naruto's door in a pair of soft linen pyjamas and holding every soft item he currently owns. 

Naruto opens the door and his expression shifts to confusion at the sight of his new neighbor holding a mountain of pillows. 

"Shirube-nii? What's all that for?" 

He asks as Shirube attempts to see around his arm full at him.

"It's cuddle equipment for story time!"

Shirube explains happily. 

"Can I come in?"

Naruto just nods dumbly at him and opens the door wider, still trying to figure out what exactly was happening. 

"So what kind of stories are you talking about? "

The blond asks as Shirube dumps his stuff on Naruto's bed and starts arranging it into a suitable nest.

"Trust me, you'll like it. Go brush your teeth and put on your sleeping clothes for me okay?"

Shirube assures him as he fluffs out pillows. 

Naruto slides slowly out of the room, most of his attention still on the creation taking place on his bed. That is until he walks into the side of the bathroom door and reorientates himself. 

Shirube is settled on top of the covers when Naruto gets back, the blankets flipped back for boy to get in.

"You have a lot of blankets and pillows Shirube-nii, hey is this a sleep over or something?"

Naruto asks brightly as Shirube wraps a soft blanket around his shoulders and helps prop a collection of pillows behind his back. 

Shirube smiles softly. 

"Not tonight, you need your rest for tomorrow, but I do have a bedtime story to tell you."

He explains as he settles in himself. 

Naruto is looking up at him with curious eyes as he snuggles even further into the cushions with contentment. 

"Now this is a very important story for you to hear so listen closely okay."

Naruto nods excitedly and Shirube takes a deep breath and begins his tale.

"Long ago, before there were ninja villages there was the Sage of six paths. Who created nine tailed beasts, which he loved like his own children. They each had a different number of tails, and each had a name to call their own."

And so he told Naruto about the biju and what had happened to them. About how they were sealed against their will and used as weapons of war. And about those who were sacrificed to contain them.

A fire is burning behind Naruto's blue eyes by the end of the story. Hands clenched in his borrowed blanket. 

"So I'm one of these Jinjuriki people right?"

He begins slowly like he's thinking it over out loud. 

"And I have Kurama the nine tailed fox sealed in me because somebody tried to control him and attack the village right?"

Naruto asks, his brow furrowed in thought. 

Shirube nods to him in confirmation.

"Yes, Kurama and his siblings are hurt and very angry right now. Can you imagine being locked in a dark room, alone for hundreds of years. People stealing your chakra whenever they wanted? How sad and lonely you would be? "

Naruto looks stricken at the thought. 

"That's horrible Shirube-nii, Kurama-san must be in so much pain. But if I let him out he might be mad and try and destroy the village again."

Shirube tucks Naruto under his arm at the boys distress. Rubbing his shoulder soothingly. 

"You're right Naruto, you can't free Kurama right now, but you can talk to him."

"Really?"

Naruto asks in surprise, head whipping around to stare at Shirube and almost clipping him in the nose.

"All jinjuriki can speak with their tailed beast by entering their mindscape."

Shirube has a feeling that Naruto will be able to enter his mindscape on his own if he tries, but they could go over meditation later if necessary. 

"At first the nine tails will be very angry and will try to scare you off, humans have hurt him for a long time so you'll have to gain his trust."

Shirube explains in warning. 

Naruto's face hardens into fierce determination. 

"Right! I'll get him to talk to me no matter what!"

The boy announces with a small fist pump.

Shirube nods along with the declaration. 

"I know that you can befriend Kurama, you may be the only one who can Naruto, I believe in you."

He assures the Catalyst with a firm hand on his shoulder. 

"Make sure to introduce yourself properly and remember that even though they aren't human the biju are still individuals and deserve respect. You can come to me for help at anytime. I'm here if you need me."

Shirube informs Naruto, deliberately looking him in the eyes to make sure the 12 year old got the message. Naruto meets his gaze head on with a brilliant grin. 

"Got it Shirube-nii, don't worry, that fur ball and me are going to be partners in no time! Believe it!"

He shouts, head held high and casting aside any doubt in the face of such a challenge. 

"I do believe it."

Shirube replies with a gentle smile. Turning to face the child of destiny with proud eyes. Then he cups Naruto's whiskerd cheeks in both hands and places a soft kiss on his head like a blessing. 

"Good night sunshine."

He says as Naruto's cheeks flush red and he smiles his giant fox grin. Wiggling bashfully under the covers as Shirube tugs his own blanket around his shoulders like a Cape and slides off the bed.

He pulls his long hair from under the heavy cover, which he put in a loose sleeping braid and gathers the pillows he'd been leaning on. Leaving the ones Naruto had already burrowed into, the kid could keep them, Shirube can always buy more. Not that Naruto probably needed the extra insulation but sometimes giant pillows are just necessary.

Naruto is already dozing off in his little blanket pile as Shirube leaves, turning off lights as he goes. He closes the apartment door quietly and sends a small burst of his spiritual presence into the door. It would alert him if someone tried to enter with a harmful purpose. 

Satisfied with the safety of his Catalyst Shirube finally retreats to his own bed to rest.

He might not require sleep the same way humans do, but this is still the most active he's been in a millennia. The energy required to interact in the living world is much greater and he was feeling rather worn out after the sudden change. He'd get used to it soon enough but for now the Fate takes the opportunity to curl up in excessive beding and recharge. 

He had to start working on team seven in the morning after all. That is going to require some solid work, lucky for him Kakashi is the one whose going to be used as target practice. 

Speaking of kids, Garra could probably use an early intervention as well, he'd have to get around to doing that while team seven is stuck doing D ranks. 

Ah the joys of serving your community. The genin are going to throw a fit.


	5. Were genin always this bad?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The genin could all use a little breaking in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah so I hit a roadblock and this took forever. I can't guarantee a posting schedule.  
> (especially since I realized I have no idea how I want to write Shirube's and Kakashis's fight)

The next morning Shirube arrives at training ground 7 a few minutes early. He takes the time to settle into a good vantage point and suppress his chakra like a regular Jonin might, that way the kids might actually have a chance at noticing his presence if they tried. He should allow them that much at least. 

The three genin all manage to arrive on time, slumping through the early morning mist like hungover toddlers, or sleepy ones technically. He hadn't given Naruto any extra assistance other than a note on his table wishing him luck. This was something that was meant to determine the genin's current level, specific influence would make that harder to do so he kept his hands out of it.

There's a few muttered comments before they all proceed to sit down and stare drowsly at nothing. Ten minutes in and Shirube is pretty sure Sakura is asleep sitting up and Naruto appears to be day-dreaming about ramen if the dopey smile is any indicator. He's not sure if Saskue is honestly attempting to burn a hole in the ground with his eyes or if his resting bitch-face just levels up when he's tired.

A full hour in and the kids still haven't made any attempts to warm up or prepare. They actually look rather annoyed. Ah so petulant. Kakashi had dropped in early that morning to see how punctual the genin would be. He then settled into a tree to read and let his students stew. Shirube's not positive the man isn't actually taking a nap at the moment himself. 

He finally just huffs in mild disappointment and flashes to stand over the sad little pile the genin make. The shrieks of terror he gets in response are rewarding though.

"You're late!" Naruto and Sakura shout in unison, (accusing finger pointing included), in an attempt to cover up their previous reaction. 

Shirube cocks his head in false confusion. Amusement curling up in him as he starts his act.

"Oh? Where did you get that idea?" He asks with wide innocent eyes, one hand cupping his chin in consideration. 

"I was here before you arrived after all."

They all look indignant. 

"No you weren't, we all got here right at 6 and you weren't here." Saskue says with an irritated glare.

Shirube just keeps up his clueless facade at the Uchiha's attitude. 

"Oh I was definitely already at the training ground, though I suppose you wouldn't have known since you never bothered looking. After all it was never decided  _ where _ in ground 7 we were supposed to meet."

Here he gives an overdramatic sigh and a wave of his hand.

"Why, how do you plan on learning anything if you can't even find your teacher? None of you even bothered to investigate the grounds or use the time to your advantage."

He shakes his head sadly in the face of the stumbling genin.

"Truly such a lack of drive, are you quite certain you all really want to be Ninja? You hardly appear motivated."

Shirube bemoans, looking at them from down his nose. Making sure to play up the sense of disappointment and disbelief in his actions. 

Saskue looks enraged and embarrassed at the same time. Naruto's eyes are wide in horror and Sakura is clearly fighting to keep from screaming. Shirube's rather proud of himself for getting such a quick response. 

Now just to place Kakashi in their path to bring them down a peg or two and honest feelings are sure to come out. 

Team 7 may become the greatest ninjas the world has ever seen but right now they're mostly just a couple of brats without a clue. Time to hammer them down to reality so they could really get to work.

Jeez, Shirube had almost forgotten how disastrous the trio had started out. Ugh, he was going to have to therapy no jutsu the hell out of everybody until he could get Naruto to do it instead. What a drag. He is not looking forward to dealing with the Uchiha dumpster fire child.

"Please tell me you at least came up with some strategies yesterday." He pleads at them. Completely dismissing their building rage. Naruto recovers first and jumps into a rambling attempt at an explanation. Unsurprisingly Saskue interrupts him with a sneer, Sakura backs him up and they all end up fighting. 

The whip-crack of chakra Shirube releases shuts them up effectively. Kakashi moves to get a better tree to watch from. 

After the clack of teeth snapping shut Shirube just cups his face in his hand and sighs.

From what he'd been able to glean from the genin's catfight, they had in fact made some attempts at strategizing. Considering Naruto's shadow clones and frontal assault to keep Kakashi distracted and busy. Saskue has the mid-range jutsu and Sakura made note that she has the best chakra control and would be well suited for sneak attacks, using the cover from the boys to launch surprises. They'd already guessed that the test would be combat-related but due to their personality clashes and lack of any concrete information on the test, they hadn't been able to come up with anything solid. 

"Alright, good job. Remember to keep your ideas in mind during your trial. I would suggest that you warm up now if you want to be ready. In fact, stretching and warm-up exercises like katas are something you should take initiative to do beforehand."

He informs them all with a pointed look. 

He hops over to Kakashi's tree branch as the genin start stretching reluctantly. The masked nin raises his visible eyebrow at him in doubt.

Shirube slumps dramatically. 

"Come on Kakashi, getting them on track would be easier if you helped. Just go pound them into the dirt for an hour, and I'll back up your teaching after."

Kakashi eye smiles at him. 

"Now Shirube-chan you don't seem very excited to teach our cute little genin, you were far more engaged yesterday. Having second thoughts?" He asks coyly. 

Shirube kicks him out of the tree.

As expected the ex-Anbu corrects mid-air and spoofs into existence in front of the genin as if he'd just happened to be there. At least this time the kids react with more suspicious complaints than indignant accusations. There may be hope for them yet.

Shirube settles himself completely into the nature chakra to watch the show like a ghost.

After Kakashi finishes curb-stomping them he'll move back in to start straightening team seven up. The tinkling of bells sets things off.

  
  


Naruto still charges in first but begins with an army of clones at his back and more focus in his eyes than the original timeline. The genin are more aware of each other, rather than ignoring their teammates completely. It's a start.

Obviously it's not nearly enough in the end. The alarm still goes off with Kakashi chillin like a villain, bells dangling mockingly in his hand. 

Saskue had made a fair attempt at using Naruto as a distraction for his shuriken-jutsu. Shirube had to muffle his laughter behind his hand when Kakashi snagged the first two shuriken on his fingers nonchalantly, never even looking away from his book.

The genin spend the next hour running around trying to find a solution. Naruto still ends up setting off a trap, but this time Saskue's there to laugh at him as he flails about upside down. Sakura actually makes a few solid attempts at suppressing her chakra to sneak attack from the army of clones. She still passes out at the low level genjutsu though. 

If nothing else, by noon the genin are united in their hatred for Kakashi. Ah, nothing brings humans together better than shared rage.

Both boys end up tied to stumps. Naruto for being gullible enough to try and steal the bento box at the memorial stone and Saskue for being there to egg him on. 

The sun is high in the sky when Kakashi starts off with his drill sergeant spiel. While clearly a little irritated with the kids at this point, he plays it up to spook them.

"Not one of you think like a shinobi, you think like children, like brats."

He growls at them with disdain in his voice. 

Saskue looks furious and Kakashi cuts into him with a cold glare, forcing the Uchiha to bite off his retort as he speaks over him.

"You don't know what it means to be shinobi, yet you play at being one."

He shakes his head in disbelief.

"You think it's some kind of game, that your actions won't have real life consequences?"

He's standing over the indignant children radiating disgust like a storm cloud.

"You think it's all about you, how narrow-minded."

He huffs.

"The job of a shinobi of the leaf is to place the safety of the village before yourself, to protect your comrades and the future even at the cost of your own lives."

His audience has sunken into angry silence and Kakashi gives a hallow, humorless laugh at the quiet. It sounds like broken glass and has the children tensing even further at the unsettling sound. Then Kakashi is turning to snap and each of them like a war general giving his soldiers a firm dressing down. 

"Sakura! You spent most of your time pining over Saskue for his attention and ignoring Naruto even though he was right there!"

Sakura has a shameful blush on her cheeks and ducks her head to stare at the ground. 

"Naruto you charged in by yourself and try to do everything alone."

Naruto's glare is solemn. Kakashi meets Saskue's belligerent gaze cooly, which only seemed to further enrage the boy.

"And Saskue, you barely made an attempt to utilize your teammates before deciding that they were so far beneath you that you'd be better off alone, arrogance!"

He snaps.

Shirube can tell he's thinking about his own genin team as well when he continues. 

"Missions are completed in groups for a reason, hubris has no place in the field. That's how you get yourself or your teammates killed, and that kind of blood will never wash off your hands."

Saskue adverts his eyes from the weight in Kakashi's gaze, all three genin slumped in surrender.

Shirube sighs quietly. It wasn't a pleasant experience but it was essential for the genin to hear. Things would only become more difficult from here and they needed to get their heads on straight as soon as possible. 

Kakashi finishes his scolding with a splash of guilt for good measure. 

"Even after Shirube-san practically told you what to do you still failed to see the point of this test."

Naruto looks like someone has poisoned his ramen, face scrunched in remorse. Shirube feels a little bad for the kid, the statement clearly hit him hard. Though less intensely Saskue and Sakura are also averting their eyes in shame. 

Kakashi lets out a sigh at the pathetic looks on the genin's faces.

"Teamwork. Teamwork is the most essential element for any mission."

Kakashi finally reveals, shoulders slumping.

"Konoha's strength stems from the solid teamwork of its shinobi, if you can't be trusted to work together you'll be a liability on the field."

He explains in a tired voice. 

Sakura finally works up her courage to speak, sounding confused and slightly annoyed.

"But sensei, you only gave us two bells, so that one of us would have to fail, creating discord within the team."

"Yeah!"

Naruto backs her up.

Kakashi brushes his gaze over the blond to stare at Sakura. 

She flinches minutely when Kakashi turns his focus on her. Single eye dark and flat.

"I specifically pitted you against each other to test whether you could look past yourself for the sake of the mission and your team!"

He crosses his arms over his chest sternly at the stuttering response. 

"A ninja must see through deception. Always look underneath the underneath!" He tells them smoothly. 

Naruto definitely has stars in his eyes at Kakashi's sharp one-liners, Shirube can feel the sparkle from 5 feet away. 

He smiles to himself as the three genin hopefuls realize how utterly they'd been played. Wilting in front of the Jonin's coolly untouched countenance. Ah Kakashi does have some damn good lines to live by.

The man finally relents at the crushed look on the kids faces. 

"I'll give you one more chance."

He says leaning over them like a disappointed school teacher. 

"But after noon getting the bells will be much harder."

He tells the kids warningly in response to the small lights of hope in the twelve year olds eyes. 

"Sakura, eat lunch now, but the boys don't get any as punishment."

Kakashi stares them down with weight in his voice. 

"Right now I am the rules. Got it?"

He lets the threat sink in before disappearing. 

Shirube glances over to where he's leaning against a tree at edge of the wooded area. Hidden behind the trunk the Jonin suppresses his chakra and listens patiently. 

Shirube stifles a yawn in the tense silence that permeates the field. Admittedly he'd hoped for a better showing, but it would clearly take some more work to get the trio properly orientated. Though things should start moving at a better pace once they had a solid foundation as a team. Now if Sakura could just get over her teachers pet mindset and go against Kakashi's 'rule' things could really get going. 

Said girl is currently starring mournfully into a bento box.

"It's okay Sakura-chan! I can go for days without eating! Believe it!"

Naruto crows as Sakura looks over at them nervously. 

His confidence is ruined when his stomach growls in angry disagreement. Naruto wilts over on himself with a small whimper and Saskue snorts quietly. 

Then scowls when his own empty stomach makes a noise. 

Shirube absently reminds himself to keep an eye on Naruto's diet going forward. It would be important to make sure the Jinchuriki was getting enough calories to keep up with both his body's increased metabolism and the increased activity of training.

In the end Sakura gives in at the sound of rumbling stomachs.

"S-Saskue-kun, here have some of mine." She offers shyly. 

Saskue looks away uncomfortably. 

"Tch, do you want to fail? I'm fine."

Sakura barely has a chance to look downcast before Naruto is shouting.

"Just take it Saskue-teme! Kakashi sensei isn't even here, how are you supposed to keep up with me if you're starving?"

Saskue sneers at the blonde, but it lacks venom. 

"Dobe, you need food more than I do, your stomach won't shut up."

Naruto puffs up to respond but Sakura cuts him off irritably. 

"Ugh! You should both eat, just take it!"

She tells them, shoving the rice laden chopsticks between them.

"We're all together in this now anyway!"

Her meek persona finally giving way under the pressure of the day. Both boys shut up. 

There's a hint of blush on Saskue's pale cheeks and he adverts his eyes uneasily. 

"Tch, fine." 

Sakura lights up at the acquisition. 

Naruto reflects her happiness twice over when she turns to offer him a bite.

"Thanks a lot Sakura-chan!" He says with a giant grin.

Sakura's eyes widen slightly at the radiant smile. It's very warm. Though the illusion of rolling thunder Kakashi brings out as he appears before them like a crack of lightning steals the heat of the afternoon. The genin all jump guilty and snap around to look as Kakashi appears before them like a harbinger of doom.

The Jonin looms over them ominously, leaking just a hint of killing intent that has the genin going ramrod straight. A spark of fear running up their spines.

"You three..."

He growls as he stares them down. Pushing just a little more menace into his chakra to test their mettle. He doesn't expect to meet such a sturdy response. 

But there's strength behind their gazes, united in defiance against the Jonin. After the bout of humiliation he'd handed out to each of them with a smile, the genin band together to glare at him on principle. Like a bunch of grumpy kittens. 

"Pass!"

Kakashi calls as the dark clouds abruptly vanish. He grins with delight at the various degrees of shock that appear on their faces.

Expressions going lax as they try to get a grasp on the sudden curve ball Kakashi threw.

"What really!"

Naruto yells in surprise while his teammates furrow their brows.

"Yep!"

Kakashi chirps back before setting into a more serious tone. The genin steadily placing their full attention on him, sensing the importance of what their sensei is about to say.

"Those who break the rules are trash, that is true."

He says slowly. 

"But those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash."

Kakashi speaks with sad eyes, words heavy in the quiet of the field.

"The names of everyone I loved are carved into this stone. In memory of their sacrifice." 

Then he turns from the eyes of his new genin to stand in front of the memorial stone. 

Naruto is starting to tear up, Shirube isn't sure if it's out of relief or happiness. Though he almost gives himself away with a snort of laughter when he realizes Naruto might have just caught a bit of hero-worship.

"He's uh, he's kinda cool."

Naruto admits in a wobbly voice, causing the other two genin to look over at him.

Shirube isn't sure Kakashi even heard with how intently the man is staring at the stone.

Shirube takes the silence as his que to finally drop in, startling the somber genin. 

"This means your team will be like your family and you will need to be able to locate and recognize their signature no matter what's happening around you."

He says cheerily over the squeaks of surprise. 

"To do this you need to become as familiar with your teammates chakra as you are your own."

Shirube explains, leaning towards the much shorter ninja and wagging a finger at them. Kakashi has also turned to look at him in mild interest.

"Finally came to join the party I see."

The copy nin says with a flat tone that indicates a complete lack of said party. 

Shirube straightens up to sniff at him imperiously.

"You're not going to be dumping your students on me Kakashi, I'm just here to help, don't expect me to hold your hand."

Kakashi gives a dramatically wounded look at the comment and places a hand theatrically over his heart. 

"What ever do you mean Shi-chan? I would never try and dump my cute little genin on anyone."

Shirube gives a snort of amusement at the fake scandalized voice. 

Not bothering to reply other than to roll his eyes the pale man turns back to the new genin. Who are looking at Kakashi suspiciously. 

"As I was saying, to achieve the full use of teamwork you will need to know each other's chakra explicitly."

"How do we do that Shirube-san?"

Sakura wonders curiously.

Already expecting Sakura to take first interest Shirube smiles at her and begins to further explain the exercise. 

"Everyone's chakra signature is unique to them, though it often takes a sensory type to get that specific. "

He can feel Kakashi eyeing him thoughtfully at the admission. Though to be fair Shirube wasn't like a shinobi sensor, he's aware of life force as a whole. Not really a fair comparison.

"You don't have to be a sensor to know your teammates signatures though, you just need repetitive chakra contact. This can happen to a degree with anyone who spends enough time together."

The trio all slump slightly with relief, Sakura is the most chakra sensitive of the bunch but she's still no sensor.

"We'll start today using physical contact and bringing your chakra to the surface to allow you to get a feel for one another. Eventually, this will allow you to keep track of each other, better coordinate attacks and make it nearly impossible to fool you with a henge or illusion."

Naruto looks excited about the whole thing, though he probably didn't catch much of the technical information. He bounces out of his ropes when Shirube cuts him free.

"Go eat something so we can get started."

Shirube says with a wave at the bento while he moves over to Saskue. 

He isn't actually worried about the blond, Naruto is a kinetic and instinctive learner, he'd be fine.

Saskue is the one he's not so sure about, getting up and personal might be difficult for him. The raven haired boy certainly looks determined though now that he'd also been released from the post of shame.

There's a tingling at the back of Shirube's neck as he dusts off his hands and slips the kunai back into his pouch. Speaking of difficult people, Hatake is edging suspiciously far away from their little group at the subject of physical contact. The Jonin freezes awkwardly when Shirube's narrowed eyes snap to his retreating form and rubs at the back of his head uncomfortably.

There's a moment of silence while they assess each other. Then the elite shinobi clears his throat 

"Well then, I'll just leave you to it shall I."

Kakashi finally says in a rush, voice full of overly forced cheer. He barely gets the words out before he shunshins abruptly away, making a mad dash to escape the feelings game.

Shirube grins viciously at the action, shifting like a predator after prey.

"Oh no you don't." 

He growls under his breath and takes off after the man. Leaving the bewildered genin to eat the lunches and stare at the trees they'd disappeared into. 

Shirube materializes in front of Kakashi mid-air with his arms outstretched like claws. The shinobi jerks hard and twists away from him in response but not fast enough.

Shirube catches the edge of his flack jacket and sends them reeling into the ground with a crash. Shirube whipped himself around Kakashi as soon as he'd gotten a hold on him, spinning them wildly through the air like a top. When they finally roll to a stop covered in leaves he's sitting over the other man triumphantly. 

Kakashi is looking up in aggravation as Shirube pins both his hands down to lean forward and grin smugly at him. He's almost wiggling excitedly at his catch.

"Where do you think you're going, hm?" 

Shirube asks teasingly. 

"You're part of the team so you have to be involved in the chakra circle, no escaping allowed I'm afraid."

He purrs down at the silver haired Jonin.

Kakashi glowers up distractedly. The trained part of him reels at being subdued, kicking up his heart rate and screeching to flip the other man off and escape. But Shirube's hold isn't tight and his body language is playful, Kakashi's pretty sure that if he tried he could break out easily. 

His breath stutters in his throat upon realizing how close Shirube is. Eyes bright and mischievous, he's looking at Kakashi like he wants to eat him and Kakashi stills under him almost by instinct. Completely unaware of how to respond. Shirube's chakra is excited and billows out around him like a heavy cloak, it reminds Kakashi that he's caught under the gaze of something vast and powerful with the strength of a blow. He remembers the force Shirube could generate from chakra alone in the Hokage's office. Shirube is dangerous and he isn't human.

Kakashi's head is whirling in confusion, he's never been in such a trapped situation that didn't mean danger, but he doesn't feel threatened. Infact he's not entirely sure what he's feeling, but Shirube's pale hair washes against the side of his face like a curtain and, oh, he smells good. His blood is still singing with adrenaline from the sudden ambush and his whole body is buzzing. The look in Shirube's eyes is hardly safe, but it makes his face flush and his stomach flip wildly in response, feeling slightly panicky. 

Shirube's grin widens to show more teeth at the blush on Kakashi's cheek. His face is close enough that he can feel the shallow breaths through the mans mask. His single dark eye is looking at little wild around the edges and Shirube can almost feel the frantic beating of Kakashi's heart against his ribs. It makes satisfaction curl though his bones, drawing him in closer. Reveling in the victory. He'd caught him and he wasn't about to let him get away. 

Kakashi stops breathing entirely when Shirube ducks his head into the side of his neck with a hum. His warm breath ticking the side of his throat and the bare skin behind his ear as a rumbling sort of purr vibrates through Shirube's chest. 

Kakashi shivers, completely bewildered with his head whirling madly. He feels like his whole body is on fire and he can't seem to catch his breath. He starts feeling pleasantly dizzy and isn't quite sure what's going on, his mind drawing up a total blank at the situation and all he can seem to do is hold on for dear life.

Then Shirube chuckles quietly and suddenly he's up and off Kakashi. Who is still to stunned to move when Shirube grabs the back of his flack jacket and starts dragging him back to the training field. 

Kakashi gasps quietly at the sudden disappearance of the dizzying heat, leaving him oddly cold. Sucking in cool air upon realising he hadn't been breathing. His head still feeling like it had been thrown into a storm, he jerks around discombobulated as he's abruptly dragged by the back of his collar. 

It takes him longer than it should have to wrangle himself back into his feet with Shirube dragging him along.

Kakashi goes quietly as he attempts to get his mental balance back while feeling strangely detached from reality. 

The Fate frog marches him the rest of the way back to the cluster of confused genin and plops them both down on the grass.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Sit down."

Shirube says briskly as the kids stand uncertainly in front of him. 

They're still eyeing the two Jonin in wary confusion as Shirube prods them into a circle.

"Now, Kakashi and I are going to demonstrate the exercise, so I want each of you to pay attention to how our chakra moves"

Shirube sits across from Kakashi so that their crossed legs are touching at the knees and picks the other man's gloved hands up in his own. Kakashi just sort of flops over slightly and accepts his role as an instruction dummy. 

"You can place your hand over ours to help get a feel for it."

Shirube says as the genin scoot in on either side of him.

Sakura is blushing as she lets the tips of her fingers rest on Shirube's thumb. Naruto is already staring intently at their joined hands and sticks a finger on curiously. 

Saskue looks uncomfortable when his teammates both look over at him expectantly. He makes a little 'tch' noise before placing his fingers over Shirube's from the opposite side. 

"Perfect, now pay close attention."

Shirube starts as everyone settles before bringing his chakra gently to the surface of his skin.

Kakashi shifts slightly at the feeling before pressing his own chakra up to meet him.

There's little gasps from the three genin around them.

"You need to be careful when making contact with someone else's chakra, be sure not to mold it or build it up to much or you could cause chakra burns."

Shirube warns gently. 

His hands are pleasantly warm now as his and Kakashi's chakra brush against each other. It's a rather intimate sensation and one that shinobi don't often experience, chakra contact so often used only to cause damage in battle. 

Kakashi is staring down at their joined hands intently, there's a hit of blush on his cheeks even as he moves his chakra against Shirube's curiously. 

The kids are given time to focus on the flow of back and forth for a bit before Shirube claims their attention again. 

"Can you feel it?"

He asks softly. 

The genin all nod distractedly in response. 

"Can you tell the difference between Kakashi's chakra and mine?"

He prompts further. 

There's more nods as the kids stare at the jumble of hands with their brows furrowed in concentration.

Naruto speaks up first. 

"Kakashi sensei's is tingly and fast moving, but yours is all smooth and slow Shirube-nii."

Naruto tilts his head curiously, still staring at the spot where his finger is resting. 

"It's all like big and fuzzy, like I can't really find the edge of it. But Kakashi sensei's is sharper, kinda like lots of little kunai, only it doesn't really hurt, but it makes me sorta itchy, or like when you sit to long and your leg feels all weird after."

Shirube nods at his rambling description and gives him a soft smile before looking over at Sakura. Who has her head tilted in a questioning way.

"Is everyone's chakra this different Shirube-san?"

She asks and glances up at him. 

Shirube hums in consideration. 

"Well, Kakashi-san and I have conforming elemental affinities so it's more obvious but even those with the same affinity are unique."

( _ Not to mention Shirube's chakra wasn't really human at all...) _

"Elemental affinities?"

Saskue wonders from Shirube's other side.

Shirube nods happily when Saskue's eyes flicker up to look at him.

"Yes, the five elemental affinities are fire, wind, lighting, earth and water. A shinobis affinity is about which element they can most easily use. Earth and fire are more common in Fire country. You yourself used a fire jutsu in the test right?"

Saskue nods in consideration, staring at their hands as if trying to visually manifest the chakra through sheer intent.

"What kind of elements do you and sensei have?"

Naruto asks, his eyes wide and excited. 

Shirube can't help the fond smile that comes from listening to team seven engaged and interested. 

"Well, I said before that we have conforming natures because I'm wind natured while Kakashi is lightning natured. Each element is weak against the element before it and strong against the one after it. So wind is weak against fire but strong against lightning."

Naruto had his face twisted in thought while Sakura piped up again before he could continue. 

"So does that mean you would beat Kakashi-sensei in a ninjutsu fight?"

She asks with a confused tilt of her head. 

Shirube lets out a gentle laugh. 

"Now, it's hardly that simple."

He explains with a grin and settles back into his lecture mode, though Naruto was less likely to appreciate it.

"Elemental Ninjutsu is a complicated dance of multiple factors. There's also the yin and yang aspects of each individual to consider, but we'll get to that later. 

Fire and lightning are interactive with wind. Each element creates a trio with the elements to either side of them. While water and earth are opposing. 

Kakashi and I are better suited to work with each other rather than against because of this. Lightning can boost the element it's weak against to great effect. While wind can do the same for fire.

Of course an experienced Shinobi can often use more than one Elemental release."

This last part catches Naruto's attention and his eyes light up gleefully. However he's cut off by his female teammate before he can get himself to hyped up.

"Ah, Shirube-san?"

Sakura speaks up hesitantly. 

"Hm?"

Shirube looks over at her idly.

She's kneeling with her hands clasped in her lap uncertainly, a fresh blush on her cheeks. Staring shyly at their hands, occasionally glancing up at Kakashi. 

Who looks like he's about to pass out, bright spots of colour high on his cheeks. What? 

Oh.

Shirube freezes awkwardly. He'd been absent-mindedly rubbing soft circles into the sides of Kakashi's palms while he was talking. 

Oops.

He hadn't even really noticed himself doing it, and just reacted to the man's anxiety by reaching out to comfort him instinctively. 

Though looking at the copy nin now he's not sure if it had the intended effect. 

Kakashi looks more like his brain had overheated from all the close contact and just combusted on him.

Shirube doesn't think he's really all there at this point. That explains why he hadn't added anything during the explanation. 

Seems the reclusive shinobis quota for human interaction is thoroughly used up. The amount of Shirube's chakra he'd been exposed to today probably didn't help either. 

It was rather intense. 

But sitting around for hours watching the genin fail at teamwork had made Shirube a little antsy, then Kakashi had tried to split and he might have been feeling a tad stir crazy. 

Running from a Fate is kinda like turning your back on a hunting cat. They had to chase you then. 

He gently releases Kakashi's hands and shoots back a bit to give Kakashi some space. 

"I think we'll finish this lesson another time, it's getting late."

He announces, feeling a little bad for the man. 

Kakashi shakes himself out of his funk awkwardly. 

"Yes, yes, I'll see everyone here tomorrow bright and early."

He says with a distracted eye smile and promptly disappears in a swirl of leaves. Shirube lets him go without fuss this time. 

The genin are standing up in bewilderment at the sudden departure. 

Shirube claps his hands brightly to refocus their attention. 

"It's a little late for lunch now, so how about I take you out for dinner?"

Naruto perks up instantaneously. 

"Ramen!"

Predictably this is met with disagreements from the other two. Shirube settles in to listen to the genin banter, ambling off in the direction of Ichiraku's anyway, the kids walking behind him unaware. He wouldn't mind trying out Naruto's food obsession. 

Shirube turns back to the trio as they near the edge of the training ground. 

"Tomorrow I'll be meeting you here before heading for the arena. The Hokage has decided to have Kakashi and myself do a performance match as a final test for rank."

Three sets of eyes whip up to look at him in response. 

"Whoa, we get to see you guys fight? Awesome! "

Naruto shouts, practically bouncing in place. 

Saskue looks like he's trying to subtlety size Shirube up, a veil of consideration on his face. 

Since he hasn't done all that much to show off his combat abilities Shirube supposes the suspicion isn't entirely unwarranted.

Hopefully, he can niggle up some respect from the Uchiha with a good showing. 

Wait, how was he supposed to face off against Kakashi in front of an audience without completely giving himself away as a deity? 

Shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shirube smothering Kakashi in chakra: "My precious."
> 
> Kakashi: "I'm losing feeling in my extremities."😬
> 
> Uh, so any suggestions on how Shirube is supposed to fight Kakashi? Cuz I think I may have dug a hole for myself. I need to think things through more...


End file.
